The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word OVULE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
O
V
U
L
E
More clues leading to the result OVULE
- United in free love, this becomes seed
- United in love, besotted, finding need for reproduction
- Small part of what comes next said you fell in love head over heels
- Move mules — both stripped part of plant
- Egg starts to open, vacated usually leaving eggshell
- You reportedly admitted to perverted love for immature female part
- Religious festival’s talked-about egg
- Reportedly you love scrambled egg
- Eat less, leave out boiled egg
- Om vigorously undertakes long experiments initially to find a reproductive cell
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Small part of what comes next" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case small part of what comes next = ovule.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 OVULE mean?
OVULE noun- The structure in a plant that develops into a seed after fertilization; the megasporangium of a seed plant with its enclosing integuments.
- An immature ovum in mammals.