Crossword Genius

Plants and things that crawl (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

creepers

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

'plants' is the definition.
(creeper is a type of plant)

'things that crawl' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'crawl' could be 'creep' (synonyms) and 'creep' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'ers' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

'and' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for creepers that I've seen before include "Plants growing along the ground" , "ramblers" , "Soft-soled shoes" , "Plants, such as ivy" , "Virginia and Ivy, say" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sun.
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