Definition of "leaf-mold" [leaf-mold]

• An earthy substance consisting of a disintegrated mass of decayed leaves. It is much used, alone or mixed with earth or other substances, as a soil for some house- and garden-plants. (noun)
• Any one of various fungi which turn brown the leaves of carnations, cotton, grapes, melons, and other plants. (noun)

The Century Dictionary (Public Domain)

• "The soil looks hot and dry, but will be watered and covered in a leaf-mold mulch to maintain moisture required for germination."
• "Seeing this woodland snipe, a piece of airborne leaf-mold, flying from the sea toward the security of some wet muddy spot made me want to understand its past."
• "At one point he drops to his knees and creeps through frosty leaf-mold toward a peregrine that has just killed a woodcock."