Asian native with flexible initiative on capital in Thailand (6,5)

I believe the answer is:

rubber plant

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'asian native with flexible initiative on capital in thailand' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I don't understand how one could define the other.

This is the entire clue.

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(Another definition for rubber plant that I've seen is " Growth in Asia".)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

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