Crossword Genius

Soporific plant: scoundrel, out of Ecstasy, will import tons (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

lotus

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

'soporific' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'plant scoundrel out of ecstasy will import tons' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
an anagram of 'out' is 'otu' which is within the answer.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for lotus that I've seen before include "Aquatic plant" , "Kind of cross-legged position for meditation" , "Exotic flower" , "Mythical plant inducing languor" , "Mythical fruit inducing state of luxurious dreaminess" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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