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bract
(redirected from Bracts)

   Also found in: Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
bract  (brkt)
n.
A leaflike or scalelike plant part, usually small, sometimes showy or brightly colored, and located just below a flower, a flower stalk, or an inflorescence.

[From Latin bractea, gold leaf, perhaps from Greek brakhein, to rattle.]

bracte·al (brkt-l) adj.

bract [brækt]
n
(Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Botany) a specialized leaf, usually smaller than the foliage leaves, with a single flower or inflorescence growing in its axil
[from New Latin bractea, Latin: thin metal plate, gold leaf, variant of brattea, of obscure origin]
bracteal  adj
bractless  adj

bract  (brkt)
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.
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.bractbract - a modified leaf or leaflike part just below and protecting an inflorescence
inflorescence - the flowering part of a plant or arrangement of flowers on a stalk
calycle, calyculus, epicalyx, false calyx - a group of bracts simulating a calyx as in a carnation or hibiscus
husk - outer membranous covering of some fruits or seeds
bracteole, bractlet - a small bract
spathe - a conspicuous bract surrounding or subtending a spadix or other inflorescence
involucre - a highly conspicuous bract or bract pair or ring of bracts at the base of an inflorescence
glume - small dry membranous bract found in inflorescences of Gramineae and Cyperaceae
Translations
bract
nTragblatt nt


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? Mentioned in ? References in periodicals archive
 
Although holiday decorators may think of poinsettias as big flowers, botanists see all that red fandangle as bracts, or modified leaves, that surround tiny true flowers.
Euphorbia millii ``Crown of Thorns,'' which shows off reddish bracts -- modified leaves that look like flowers -- throughout the year, is available both as a compact, cushiony dwarf and as an upright, branching thorn bush that eventually reaches a height of nearly five feet.
Choose the largest cones you can find, with loose, open bracts.
 
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