A modified leaf or leaflike part just below and protecting an inflorescence.
Leaf from axil of which flower is produced.
Leaflike structure in whose axil a flower or inflorescence develops. Bracts are generally green and smaller than the true leaves. However, in some plants they may be brightly colored and conspicuous, taking over the role of attracting pollinating insects to the flowers, whose own petals are small; examples include poinsettia Euphorbia pulcherrima and bougainvillea.
A whorl of bracts surrounding an inflorescence is termed an involucre. A bracteole is a leaflike organ that arises on an individual flower stalk, between the true bract and the calyx.