Nile's reptile must be stripped of a flower (6)
I believe the answer is:
crocus
'a flower' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'nile's reptile must be stripped' is the wordplay.
'nile's reptile' becomes 'croc' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'be stripped' indicates the central letters (outside letters removed).
The central letters of 'must' are 'us'.
'croc'+'us'='CROCUS'
'of' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for crocus that I've seen before include "'Spring flower, source of saffron (6)'" , "Bloomer" , "Spring-flowering plant" , "it's ready for spring" , "Occurs (anagram)" .)