Sandy-coloured growths coming up (5)
I believe the answer is:
straw
'sandy' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
I cannot understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for straw that I've seen before include "What a sucker gets given" , "Dried corn stalks" , "remnant of harvest" , "Tube for suckers" , "Stalk of dry grass" .)