Bract

1. A leaf, usually smaller than the true leaves of a plant, from the axil of which a flower stalk arises.
2. Any modified leaf, or scale, on a flower stalk or at the base of a flower.

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.