Plant in America around spies (6)
I believe the answer is:
acacia
'plant' is the definition.
(acacia is a kind of plant)
'america around spies' is the wordplay.
'america' becomes 'a' (common abbreviation - e.g. in organisation names).
'around' becomes 'ca' (circa).
'spies' becomes 'cia'.
'a'+'ca'+'cia'='ACACIA'
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for acacia that I've seen before include "Shrub of warm climates" , "Thorny flowering shrub" , "Tree or shrub with yellow or white flowers" , "Spiny tree of warm climates" , "Plant like wattle" .)