bract

bract
bracteal /brak"tee euhl/, adj.bracted, adj.bractless, adj.
/brakt/, n. Bot.
a specialized leaf or leaflike part, usually situated at the base of a flower or inflorescence.
[1760-70; earlier bractea < L: a thin plate of metal]

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Modified, usually small, leaflike structure often positioned beneath a flower or inflorescence.

What are often taken to be the petals of flowers are sometimes bracts
for example, the large, colourful bracts of poinsettias or the showy white or pink bracts of dogwood blossoms.

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▪ plant structure
      Modified, usually small, leaflike structure often positioned beneath a flower or inflorescence. What are often taken to be the petals of flowers are sometimes bracts—for example, the large, colourful bracts of poinsettias or the showy white or pink bracts of dogwood blossoms.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • bract — bract; bract·ed; bract·let; …   English syllables

  • 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:… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • bract — (n.) in botany, small leaf at the base of a flower, Modern Latin, from L. bractea, lit. thin metal plate, of unknown origin. Related: Bracteal; bracteate …   Etymology dictionary

  • bract — ► NOUN Botany ▪ a modified leaf with a flower or flower cluster in its axil. ORIGIN Latin bractea thin metal plate …   English terms dictionary

  • bract — [brakt] n. [ModL bractea < L, thin metal plate] a modified leaf, usually small and scalelike, sometimes large and brightly colored, from whose axil grows a flower or inflorescence bracteal [brak′tē əl] adj …   English World dictionary

  • bract|ed — «BRAK tihd», adjective. having bracts …   Useful english dictionary

  • Bract — In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf. Bracts are ordinarily associated with reproductive structures (subtending flowers, inflorescence axes, or cone scales). They are ordinarily reduced in size relative to foliage leaves, or of a… …   Wikipedia

  • bract —   n. leaf from axil of which flower is produced.    ♦ bracteal, a. bract like.    ♦ bracteate,   a. bearing bracts.    ♦ bracteiform, a. bract shaped.    ♦ bracteole, n. small bract; bract at base of flower.    ♦ bracteolate, a. having bracteoles …   Dictionary of difficult words

  • bract — UK [brækt] / US noun [countable] Word forms bract : singular bract plural bracts biology a type of leaf that grows from a stem where the flower develops …   English dictionary

  • bract — [[t]brækt[/t]] n. bot a specialized leaflike plant part, sometimes large and showy, usu. situated at the base of a flower or inflorescence • Etymology: 1760–70; earlier bractea < L: a thin plate of metal brac′te•al, adj. brac′te•ate ti ɪt,… …   From formal English to slang

  • bract|let — «BRAKT liht», noun. a small bract situated on a secondary axis, as on a pedicel, or even on a petiole …   Useful english dictionary

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