Sparse

Part of speech: verb (v.)

To scatter; to disperse. [Obs.] Spenser.

Part of speech: adjective (a.)

1. Thinly scattered; set or planted here and there; not being dense or close together; as, a sparse population. Carlyle.

2. Placed irregularly and distantly; scattered; -- applied to branches, leaves, peduncles, and the like.