Some fancy cadet in the plant (5)
I believe the answer is:
cycad
'plant' is the definition.
(cycad is a kind of plant)
'some fancy cadet in' is the wordplay.
'some' says the answer is hidden in the clue (some of the parts of the word are used).
'CYCAD' is hidden within 'fancy cadet in'.
'the' is the link.
(Other definitions for cycad that I've seen before include "Tropical palm" , "Sago palm" , "Primitive fern-, palm-like plant" , "Cone-bearing palm-like tropical plant" .)