gully bean

English

Etymology

So called because the bushes grow wild, especially in gullies, and the bean-like fruits are used to season certain foods.

Noun

gully bean (plural gully beans)

1. A fruit of a wild eggplant or susumber plant (Solanum torvum).
   • 1977, Farmer:

     Preserves here featured a number of products in brine, namely gully beans, corn, carrot and breadfruit. Other exhibits here included pineapple, cucumber, pickle, castor oil, banana, vinegar, pepper pot soup in bottles.

   • 2008, Jane Covernton, Cutlass Time, →ISBN, page 187:

     They go up into the hills to pick gully beans, up into deep green spicy woods with the sun hot in dappled patches on the men's glistening backs, with strange birds screeching and goats neighing loudly in the afternoon air.

   • 2016, Austin Mitchell, Uptown Lovers, →ISBN:

     “Steam fish, bananas, dumplings, gully beans and okra.” “You cooked that kind of food on a Sunday? Was I so fast asleep that you couldn't wake me up and ask me what I wanted? Gully beans, what's that?” “Susumber, it's good to cook with ...”