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Vegetable gold, black and green, I gathered (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

aubergine

'vegetable' is the definition.
(aubergine is a kind of vegetable)

'gold black and green i gathered' is the wordplay.
'gold' becomes 'au' ('Au' can be a synonym of 'gold').
'black' becomes 'b' (as in pencil classifications).
'and' says to put letters next to each other.
'gathered' indicates anagramming the letters.
'green'+'i'='greeni'
'greeni' with letters rearranged gives 'ergine'.
'au'+'b'+'ergine'='AUBERGINE'

(Other definitions for aubergine that I've seen before include "Edible plant" , "I agree bun could become a strange vegetable" , "Fruit cooked and eaten as a vegetable" , "I argue, Ben, that it's a fruit" , "Purple vegetable" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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