Tree of note felled by chief (6)

I believe the answer is:

leader

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'felled by chief' is the definition.
'leader' can be an answer for 'chief' (I've seen this before). I'm unsure of the 'felled by' bit.

'tree of note' is the wordplay.
'tree' becomes 'lead' (lead tree is a kind of tree).
'of note' becomes 'er' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'lead'+'er'='LEADER'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for leader that I've seen before include "Party head" , "Commander; article" , "Guide, commander" , "Boss, commander" , "The one in charge of others" .)

I've seen this clue in The Mirror.

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