Plant suffering in metal pot (8)
I believe the answer is:
palmetto
'plant' is the definition.
(type of palm tree)
'suffering in metal pot' is the wordplay.
'suffering in' indicates an anagram (letters suffer disruption).
'metal'+'pot'='metalpot'
'metalpot' anagrammed gives 'PALMETTO'.
(Other definitions for palmetto that I've seen before include "Small tropical tree with fan-shaped leaves" , "nickname of US State" , "Sort of plant" , "Sort of shrub" .)