State lacking unconscious plants (5)

I believe the answer is:

flora

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'plants' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'state lacking unconscious' is the wordplay.
'state' becomes 'fl'.
'lacking unconscious' becomes 'ora' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'fl'+'ora'='FLORA'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for flora that I've seen before include "The plants of an area (5)" , "local plants" , "Plants < girl" , "growth" , "Botanical specimens" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.

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