Boy from South Africa leaves (5)
I believe the answer is:
salad
'boy from south africa leaves' is the definition.
'salad' can be an answer for 'leaves' (salad leaves). I am unsure of the 'boy from south africa' bit.
'boy from south africa leaves' is the wordplay.
'boy' becomes 'Sal'.
'from south' says the letters should be written in reverse.
'africa leaves' becomes 'da' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'da' in reverse letter order is 'ad'.
'sal'+'ad'='SALAD'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for salad that I've seen before include "A cold meal with lots of lettuce" , "Curve" , "One may well be green" , "Cold dish of raw vegetables" , "one gets dressed" .)