Crossword Genius

Liked leaving university small trees (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

poplars

'trees' is the definition.
(poplar is a kind of tree)

'liked leaving university small' is the wordplay.
'liked' becomes 'popular' (something popular is well-liked).
'leaving' indicates named letters should be taken away.
'university' becomes 'u' (abbreviation for university).
'small' becomes 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size).
'popular' with 'u' taken out is 'poplar'.
'poplar'+'s'='POPLARS'

(Another definition for poplars that I've seen is " Tall slender trees with soft yellow-ish wood".)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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