Crossword Genius

Flowery piece (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

petal

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'flowery piece' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I can't understand how they can define each other.

'piece' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'piece' could be 'p' (abbreviation for Pawn) and 'p' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'etal' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for petal that I've seen before include "part of seven [VIOLA]" , "Brightly-coloured part of flower" , "Small seal set in a ring" , "Floral segment" , "A bit of flower" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
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