Cut up fat and remove crown (7)
I believe the answer is:
pollard
'remove crown' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both plants as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe there's a link between them I don't understand?
'cut up fat' is the wordplay.
'cut' becomes 'lop' (lopping is a kind of cutting**).
'up' is a reversal indicator (in down clue: letters go upwards).
'fat' becomes 'lard' (lard is a kind of fat).
'lop' backwards is 'pol'.
'pol'+'lard'='POLLARD'
'and' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for pollard that I've seen before include "cut down the number of branches" , "Lop tops off (trees)" , "Deer with antlers removed" , "Remove crown from (tree)" , "trim" .)