ˈbrakt noun
( -s )
Etymology: New Latin bractea, from Latin brattea, bractea thin metal plate, gold leaf
1. : a somewhat modified leaf associated with the reproductive structures of a plant: as
a. : a leaf from the axil of which a flower or floral axis arises
b. : a leaf borne on the floral axis itself (as one subtending the flower or flower cluster) ordinarily smaller than a foliage leaf but occasionally large and showy and simulating petals (as in the fever tree and flowering dogwood) — called also bracteole, bractlet ; see glume , involucre , spathe ; compare scale
c. : one of the specialized leaves associated with the sexual organs in mosses
d. : a scalelike structure associated with the ovule in the ovulate cone of certain conifers
2.
a. : modified medusae of siphonophores having a protective function : hydrophyllium
b. : a flattened leaflike part of certain crustacean appendages ; specifically : the distal exite of the limb of a phyllopod