Crossword Genius

Quietly supported by act protecting western water plant (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

pondweed

'water plant' is the definition.
(pondweed is a kind of water plant)

'quietly supported by act protecting western' is the wordplay.
'quietly' becomes 'p' (p for piano and quiet).
'supported by' becomes 'on'.
'act' becomes 'deed' (deed is a kind of act).
'protecting' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'western' becomes 'w'.
'deed' placed around 'w' is 'dweed'.
'p'+'on'+'dweed'='PONDWEED'

(Other definitions for pondweed that I've seen before include "water plant" , "Aquatic plant" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.