Bract
A bract is a modified leaf associated with a flower or inflorescence. It may resemble an ordinary leaf, or be brightly colored or reduced.
Flower: A reproductive structure of flowering plants, typically containing organs that produce gametes and facilitate fertilization. Bracts are modified leaves associated with flowers, often positioned below or around them.
Poinsettia: A Central American shrub, Euphorbia pulcherrima, known for colorful leaflike structures surrounding small flowers. Its vivid red structures are bracts, while the small central structures are the true flowers.
Floral induction: The developmental transition in which a plant shoot becomes committed to producing flowers. Changes in shoot development establish the structures and positions from which bracts and flowers arise.
Bracteole: A small bract associated with a flower or flower stalk, often positioned beneath a calyx. Bracteoles are smaller, more specialized bracts that occur closer to individual flowers.
Inflorescence: The arrangement of flowers on a plant, including their branching pattern and the order in which they develop. Bracts may occur beneath individual flowers or along the branches of a flower cluster.
Bougainvillea: A genus of woody flowering vines native to South America, often bearing brightly colored papery structures around small flowers. Its showy magenta or purple structures are bracts that surround inconspicuous flowers.
Leaf: A plant organ, usually flattened, that grows from a stem and commonly performs photosynthesis. Bracts are modified leaves, retaining leaf identity while taking specialized forms and positions.
Tepal: A floral part whose identity as a sepal or petal is indistinct or unresolved. Tepals belong to the flower itself, whereas bracts are modified leaves associated with it.
Phyllotaxis: The arrangement of leaves or other plant organs around a stem. Bract positions follow patterns of plant-organ arrangement and can help define an inflorescence's form.
Dogwood: A genus of trees and shrubs, several species of which produce conspicuous flower clusters surrounded by large white or pink bracts. The apparent petals of flowering dogwoods are bracts surrounding a cluster of small flowers.