Remembered in retrospect small valley with maple (8)
I believe the answer is:
recalled
'remembered' is the definition.
('recall' can be a synonym of 'remember')
'in retrospect small valley with maple' is the wordplay.
'in retrospect' is a reversal indicator.
'small valley' becomes 'dell' (I've seen this before).
'with' says to put letters next to each other.
'maple' becomes 'acer' (I've seen this before).
'dell'+'acer'='dellacer'
'dellacer' written backwards gives 'RECALLED'.
(Other definitions for recalled that I've seen before include "Brought to mind" , "Summoned back or remembered" .)