Botany is a fascinating subject. At school and college levels, it can make students think that they know everything there is to know about the physiology, structure, genetics, ecology, classification and economic importance of plants. Yet certain botanical truths defy common assumptions.

Two well-known examples: strawberries are not berries and tomatoes are fruits. While carrots and radishes are the root part of their respective plants, potato tubers — which have underground stems, not roots — complicate matters further.

Consider the three images accompanying this piece. You are likely to think that one of the images is a bougainvillea, while the other two appear to be exotic, shiny flowers, probably from tropical regions or distant gardens. But what if I tell you that none of these images has any flowers or petals in it? Instead, the vibrant, coloured part that you can see in these photographs are known as bracts!

Bracts are modified and specialised leaves that are usually not green in colour. Their shape, size, location, colour and texture may........

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