Steer away from pines, say (5)
I believe the answer is:
trees
'pines say' is the definition.
(pine is a kind of tree)
'steer away' is the wordplay.
'away' indicates anagramming the letters.
'steer' anagrammed gives 'TREES'.
'from' is the link.
(Other definitions for trees that I've seen before include "Components of forest" , "Tall, perennial, woody plant" , "Elms, pines etc" , "Ashes, perhaps?" , "Large plants" .)