bract

American  

[brakt] / brækt /

noun

Botany.

1. a specialized leaf or leaflike part, usually situated at the base of a flower or inflorescence.

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bract British  

/ brækt /

noun

1. a specialized leaf, usually smaller than the foliage leaves, with a single flower or inflorescence growing in its axil

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bract Scientific  

/ brăkt /

1. A modified leaf growing just below a flower or flower stalk. Bracts are generally small and inconspicuous, but some are showy and petallike, as the brightly colored bracts of bougainvillaea or the white or pink bracts of flowering dogwoods.

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Other Word Forms

• bracteal adjective
• bracted adjective
• bractless adjective

Etymology

Origin of bract

1760–70; earlier bractea < Latin: a thin plate of metal

Example Sentences

Kobayashi said the vibrant petals are actually modified leaves known as bracts that require long winter nights — at least 12 to 15 hours of darkness a day — for their colors to change.

From Los Angeles Times

These colorful parts of the plant, often referred to as flowers, are actually modified leaves called bracts.

From Seattle Times

Just as most plants are fading at the end of the growing season, hydrangea flowers, technically long-lasting bracts, are at their best, maturing to deep blue, purple and a flight of wines.

From Seattle Times

Each flower is held in a cuff of threadlike bracts — the “mist” — and appears in spring and early summer.

From Seattle Times

Arching stems produce delicate white flowers and dusky pink bracts throughout the growing season, and the entire plant takes on burnished hues with cool weather in fall.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• frond
• needle
• petal
• stalk