BRACT

bract

(noun) a modified leaf or leaflike part just below and protecting an inflorescence

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

bract (plural bracts)

(botany) A leaf or leaf-like structure from the axil out of which a stalk of a flower or an inflorescence arises.

Source: Wiktionary

Bract, n. Etym: [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.

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.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition