The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word SUMAC
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
S
U
M
A
C
More clues leading to the result SUMAC
- Tree French author climbs
- Small tree French writer’s climbed
- Problem with air conditioning one can get to the root of?
- Copper's grabbing a maiden climbing tree
- Setting up of university complex requiring destruction of quiet wood
- Problem with current tree
- Problem about climbing subtropical tree
- Shrub from south porter originally removed from college grounds
- Spice up writer
- Shrub Greek character put back in bag
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "tree" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case tree = sumac.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does SUMAC mean?
SUMAC noun- Any of various shrubs or small trees of the genus Rhus and other genera in Anacardiaceae, particularly the elm-leaved sumac, Sicilian sumac, or tanner's sumac (Rhus coriaria).
- Dried and chopped-up leaves and stems of a plant of the genus Rhus, particularly the tanner's sumac (see sense 1), used for dyeing and tanning leather or for medicinal purposes.
- A sour spice popular in the Eastern Mediterranean, made from the berries of tanner's sumac.
- To apply a preparation of sumac to (an object), for example, to a piece of leather to tan it.