It's a plant stand, we're told (3)
I believe the answer is:
tea
'it's a plant' is the definition.
(tea is a kind of plant)
'stand we're told' is the wordplay.
'stand' becomes 'tee' (I've seen this before).
'we're told' shows a homophone (sound like).
'tee' is a homophone of 'TEA'.
(Other definitions for tea that I've seen before include "Elevenses" , "bush" , "Popular beverage brewed at home" , "Food" , "Shrub; drink" .)