Shrub found in Michigan, Missouri and South America? (6)
I believe the answer is:
mimosa
'shrub' is the definition.
(mimosa is a kind of shrub)
'michigan missouri and south america?' is the wordplay.
'michigan' becomes 'mi' (state letters).
'missouri' becomes 'mo'.
'and' says to put letters next to each other.
'south' becomes 's' (synonyms).
'america?' becomes 'a' (common abbreviation - e.g. in organisation names).
'mi'+'mo'+'s'+'a'='MIMOSA'
'found in' is the link.
(Other definitions for mimosa that I've seen before include "Sensitive tree or shrub with globular clusters of yellow flowers" , "Tropical plant" , "Buck's Fizz" , "Sensitive thing growing" , "Australian acacia tree" .)