Crossword Genius

An American who defaced a willow tree (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

hoosier

'an american' is the definition.
(I know that Hoosier is a type of american)

'who defaced a willow tree' is the wordplay.
'defaced' means to remove the first letter (the word with its face removed).
'a willow tree' becomes 'osier' (osier is a kind of willow tree).
'who' with its initial letter removed is 'ho'.
'ho'+'osier'='HOOSIER'

(Another definition for hoosier that I've seen is " nickname of US State".)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.
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