Crossword Genius

A lot of birdsong around close part of plant (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

tendril

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'plant' is the definition.
The answer is an example.

'a lot of birdsong around close part' is the wordplay.
'a lot of' means to remove the last letter (a lot of but not all of the word).
'birdsong' becomes 'trill' (I've seen this before).
'around' indicates putting letters inside.
'close part' becomes 'end' (end is a kind of part. I am not sure about the 'close' bit.).
'trill' with its final letter taken away is 'tril'.
'tril' enclosing 'end' is 'TENDRIL'.

'of' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for tendril that I've seen before include "Slender stem on twining plants" , "Twining shoot" , "Plant's coiling, threadlike climbing organ" , "Coiling shoot of climbing plant" , "Climbing plant's attachment" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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