Spice king perhaps meets a mother (8)
I believe the answer is:
cardamom
'spice' is the definition.
(I know that cardamom is a type of spice)
'king perhaps meets a mother' is the wordplay.
'king perhaps' becomes 'card' (king is a type of playing card).
'meets' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'mother' becomes 'mom' (mom is a kind of mother).
'card'+'a'+'mom'='CARDAMOM'
(Other definitions for cardamom that I've seen before include "something spicy" , "type of plant" , "Roc, Madam, may become a herb" , "Oriental spice; a mad corm (anagram)" , "Seeds used as spice" .)