Imbricate

ɪmˈbrɪkeɪt

adjective

arranged like overlapping roof tiles; lying one over another in regular order

The term 'imbricate' comes from the Latin word 'imbricatus', meaning covered with tiles. In biology, the term is commonly used to describe plant parts or scales that overlap like roof tiles.

Again, in another work he says, the genera of the Connaraceae "differ in having one or more ovaria, in the existence or absence of albumen, in the imbricate or valvular aestivation. Any one of these characters singly is frequently of more than generic importance, though here even, when all taken together, they appear insufficient to separate Cnestis from Connarus."

Charles Darwin

The Origin of Species