Crossword Genius

A growing source of dispute with some gangs (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

rowan

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'a growing source' is the definition.
'rowan' can be an answer for 'source' (I have seen 'source of berries' mean 'rowan' so perhaps 'source' could also mean 'rowan'). I'm unsure of the 'a growing' bit.

'of dispute with some gangs' is the wordplay.
'of dispute' becomes 'ran' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'with' indicates putting letters inside.
'some' means to look at the middle letters.
'gangs' becomes 'crowds' ('crowd' can be a synonym of 'gang').
The central letters of 'crowds' are 'ow'.
'ran' placed around 'ow' is 'ROWAN'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for rowan that I've seen before include "source of berries" , "-- Williams, theologian" , "Sort of ash" , "Tree with orange-red berry-like fruits" , "ash native to mountain regions" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app