Spathe (spāth), the very highly developed bract which invests the spadix. In Jack-in-the-Pulpit it is tubular below, and spreads above into an overarching hood. In the calla lily it is very large, and beautifully white. The spadix with its spathe is characteristic of the Aroids, and in the numerous tropical forms the spathe is extremely varied in form and often brilliantly colored.