Crossword Genius

Short scruffy wanderer, taken short, finds a tree (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

mangrove

'a tree' is the definition.
(mangrove is a kind of tree)

'short scruffy wanderer taken short' is the wordplay.
'short scruffy' becomes 'mang' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'wanderer' becomes 'rover' (synonyms).
'taken short' means to remove the last letter.
'rover' with its last letter taken away is 'rove'.
'mang'+'rove'='MANGROVE'

'finds' is the link.

(Other definitions for mangrove that I've seen before include "Tree growing on tropical coasts and in muddy swamps" , "whose roots may be waterlogged" , "Shrub" , "one that's swamped?" , "that grows in swamps" .)

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.