Crossword Genius

It has matted fur and is commonly edible (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

fruit

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'commonly edible' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I don't see how one could define the other.

'it has matted fur and' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'it' could be 't' (abbreviation. e.g. in 'tis) and 't' is located in the answer.
an anagram of 'fur' is 'fru' which is located in the answer.
A single letter 'i' remains which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'is' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for fruit that I've seen before include "Eg, bananas" , "Greengrocer's produce" , "Eg, banana or apple" , "Result of work/activity" , "See 9" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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