Bracteolate

Bracteolate is a botanical term used to describe flowers or inflorescences that bear bracteoles. A bracteole is a small, leaf-like structure subtending a single flower or its pedicel, and is distinct from a larger bract that commonly lies beneath an inflorescence or flower cluster. The presence of bracteoles is a characteristic noted in plant descriptions to help distinguish taxa.

In plants described as bracteolate, bracteoles can vary in number, position, and shape. They may be paired or solitary, and their forms range from linear or lanceolate to scale-like; they can be membranous, papery, or somewhat rigid. Bracteoles may be persistent, remaining at the base of the flower after it opens, or deciduous, falling away early in development. The size and prominence of bracteoles are often used as diagnostic characters in morphological keys and floristic treatments.

Relation to related structures: a bract is typically a larger, more conspicuous leaf-like organ beneath a flower or inflorescence, whereas a bracteole is a smaller modification associated with the individual floral unit. The term bracteolate is widely applied across angiosperms and is part of standard morphological vocabulary in botanical descriptions and taxonomic work.

Etymology: the word derives from Latin bractea meaning “a thin plate” with a diminutive suffix, yielding bracteola (diminutive) and bracteolate (bearing small bracteoles).