Crossword Genius

Mares regularly taking fruit (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

damson

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

'fruit' is the definition.
(damson is a kind of fruit)

'mares regularly taking' is the wordplay.
'mares' becomes 'dams' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'regularly taking' becomes 'on' (as in 'on drugs').
'dams'+'on'='DAMSON'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for damson that I've seen before include "Small dark-purple plum" , "Small purple plum" , "jam producer" , "Small plum-like fruit" , "Kind of plum for nomads" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Mail.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app