Middle Eastern plant (5)

I believe the answer is:

aster

'plant' is the definition.

'middle eastern' is the wordplay.
'middle' says to take the centre.
The centre of 'eastern' is 'ASTER'.

(Other definitions for aster that I've seen before include "Tears about bright flower" , "Daisy-like plant" , "(Starlike) flower" , "bloomer" , "Showy garden flower" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.

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