bract

views updated Jun 11 2018

bract / brakt/ • n. Bot. a modified leaf or scale, typically small, with a flower or flower cluster in its axil. Bracts are sometimes larger and more brightly colored than the true flower, as in a poinsettia.DERIVATIVES: brac·te·ate / -tēit; -tēˌāt/ adj.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

bract

views updated Jun 08 2018

bract A modified leaf with a flower or inflorescence in its axil. Bracts are often brightly coloured and may be mistaken for the petals of a flower. For example the showy `flowers' of poinsettia and Bougainvillea are composed of bracts; the true flowers are comparatively inconspicuous. See also involucre.

A Dictionary of Biology

bract

views updated May 21 2018

bract Modified leaf found on a flower stalk or the flower base. Bracts are usually small and scale-like. In some species they are large and brightly coloured, such as dogwood and poinsettia.

World Encyclopedia

bract

views updated May 23 2018

bract (bot.) small leaf below calyx. XVIII. — L. bractea thin plate of metal, gold leaf.
So bracteate XIX; see -ATE2.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

bract

views updated May 23 2018

bract A leaf, usually much reduced or modified, which subtends a flower or inflorescence in its axis.

A Dictionary of Plant Sciences MICHAEL ALLABY

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