Starchy tuber a woman raised (3)
I believe the answer is:
yam
'starchy tuber' is the definition.
(yams are starchy)
'a woman raised' is the wordplay.
'a woman' becomes 'May' (woman's name).
'raised' shows that the letters should be reversed in order (going up in a down clue).
'may' back-to-front is 'YAM'.
(Other definitions for yam that I've seen before include "Edible tuber" , "American sweet potato" , "May be a sweet spud" , "Tuberous vegetable" , "Tropical tuber" .)