Spathe

Spathe is a botanical term. The spathe is the membranous part of an inflorescence that looks like a leaf. It is therefore a bract. The spathe is a large split bract found in some species, especially in the Araceae family (arum, for example).

The Titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum), the largest inflorescence in the world, shown here in early bloom at the Brest Botanical Conservatory in June 2009. The red and green part is a spathe. © Brest Botanical Conservatory

Spathe - 1 Photo