Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BRACT, or BRAC'TE-A, n. [L. Ainsworth writes, bractea, or brattea.]

In botany, an abnormally developed leaf, growing upon the peduncle of a flower. It differs from other leaves in shape or color, and is generally situated on the peduncle, so near the flower, as easily to be mistaken for a perianth.