Crossword Genius

Felon with fire destroyed tree (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

conifer

'tree' is the definition.
(conifer is a kind of tree)

'felon with fire destroyed' is the wordplay.
'felon' becomes 'con' (abbreviation for 'convict').
'with' says to put letters next to each other.
'destroyed' is an anagram indicator.
'fire' with letters rearranged gives 'ifer'.
'con'+'ifer'='CONIFER'

(Other definitions for conifer that I've seen before include "The tree keeps its leaves" , "Evergreen tree" , "Fir or larch, for example" , "Type of tree" , "Tree such as pine, yew etc" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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