Crossword Genius

Strains on exterior of cherry trees (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

cypresses

'trees' is the definition.
(cypress is a kind of tree)

'strains on exterior of cherry' is the wordplay.
'strains' becomes 'presses' (strain can mean to press or put pressure on).
'on' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'exterior of' says to hollow out the word (remove centre letters).
'cherry' with its middle taken out is 'cy'.
'presses' put after 'cy' is 'CYPRESSES'.

(Another definition for cypresses that I've seen is " trees".)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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