Tropical climbing plant (5)
I believe the answer is:
liana
'tropical climbing plant' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
This is the entire clue.
(Other definitions for liana that I've seen before include "Tropical vine" , "Jungle climber" , "Jungle creeper" , "Woody climbing tropical plant -- a nail (anag)" , "Woody forest climber" .)