Crossword Genius

Tropical fruits lacking male leaves (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

goes

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

'tropical fruits lacking male' is the wordplay.
'tropical fruits' becomes 'mangoes'.
'lacking' is a deletion indicator.
'male' becomes 'man' (man is a kind of male).
'mangoes' with 'man' taken away is 'GOES'.

(Other definitions for goes that I've seen before include "See 17" , "Disappears; runs" , "Moves" , "Travels; attempts" , "Leaves; operates" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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