Bract

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Bract \Bract\, n. [See {Bractea}.] (Bot.)
     (a) A leaf, usually smaller than the true leaves of a plant,
         from the axil of which a flower stalk arises.
     (b) Any modified leaf, or scale, on a flower stalk or at the
         base of a flower.
         [1913 Webster]


  
     Note: Bracts are often inconspicuous, but sometimes large and
           showy, or highly colored, as in many cactaceous plants.
           The spathes of aroid plants are conspicuous forms of
           bracts.
           [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  bract
       n : a modified leaf or leaflike part just below and protecting
           an inflorescence

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  27 Moby Thesaurus words for "bract":
     blade, bracteole, bractlet, cotyledon, flag, floral leaf, foliole,
     frond, glume, involucre, involucrum, lamina, leaf, leaflet, lemma,
     ligule, needle, petal, pile, pine needle, seed leaf, sepal, spathe,
     spear, spire, stipula, stipule