‖ghaap, noun

/ɡɑːp/
Forms:
gaap, ghabShow more Also gaap, ghab, ghap, guaap, ngaap.
Origin:
NamaShow more Nama ghoub, gnaap, ngaap.
Any of several edible plants of the carrion flower family (Asclepiadaceae) especially Trichocaulon spp., Stapelia spp., and Pectinaria spp.
[1819 Rees Cycl. XXXIII.(s.v. Stapelia pilifera), The Hottentots are said to eat it, knowing it by the name of Guaap.]
[1822 W.J. Burchell Trav. I. 243A short fleshy plant, well known to the Hottentots by the name of Guaap...It has an insipid, yet cool and watery, taste, and is much used by them for the purpose of quenching thirst.]
[1856 L. Pappe in Cape of G.H. Almanac & Annual Register 345Stapelia pilifera Lin. (Asclepideae), The stem of this plant which grows in the dreary wastes of the Karoo, is fleshy and of the size and form of a cucumber...The natives..call it Guaap.]
1878 Trans. of S. Afr. Phil. Soc. I. i. 24 (Pettman)Here we find stunted Mesembryanthemums, numerous kinds of Euphorbias, the peculiar Ghap (Stapelia) in at least a half dozen varieties.
1913 C. Pettman Africanderisms 186Ghab,..Stapelia pilifera (as well as others of these Carrion-flowers as they are called), is known by this name in the Karoo.
1924 L.H. Brinkman Glory of Backveld 53The gaap belongs to the cactus family, and grows above the ground; it has the peculiarity of being extremely bitter when first put into one’s mouth, but the saliva, acting on its juice, turns it into such saccharine sweetness that it becomes almost nauseating.
[1932 Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk Medicinal & Poisonous Plants 151Natives formerly ate the stem of Stapelia pilifera L., Nama guaap, as a thirst quencher. The Namas still use it for this purpose.]
1962 Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk Medicinal & Poisonous Plants 138The Trichocaulons, known generically to the Hottentots as ngaap (the spiny-stemmed species) are mostly edible in the raw state.
1970 E. Schearkogel Informant, Hennenman, Free StateGhaap..has thorns and a soury taste, rather salty.
1988 J. Muller in Smuts & Alberts Forgotten Highway through Ceres & Bokkeveld 184Karona is a ghaap (ghape)...When you’re thirsty you can only eat one at a time. It’s slightly bitter, but after you’ve eaten it, your mouth is as sweet as honey! And then another ghaap is Kopseer...If its crown is white, then you must know, you should leave it, it’s got a headache.
Any of several edible plants of the carrion flower family (Asclepiadaceae) especially Trichocaulon spp., Stapelia spp., and Pectinaria spp.
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18191988

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GG, adjectiveadj. & nounn.ghoen, nounn.
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