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The invasion of De Hoek
January 2-9, 2026
|Farmer's Weekly
The farm De Hoek in the Barkly East district of the Eastern Cape is home to several exotic fauna and flora species, but as landowner Mike Burgess writes, interaction between two of these species has resulted in a particularly serious management challenge.
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The increase in numbers of both the silverleaf cotoneaster (Cotoneaster pannosus) and fallow deer (Dama dama) on the 455ha farm of De Hoek has been nothing short of unnerving. This is especially so because both species have been listed as invasive and are endemic to central China and the Mediterranean region and parts of Asia, respectively. Their combined presence on a little farm in the Eastern Cape's highlands is maybe at best intriguing.
THE SILVERLEAF COTONEASTER
The silverleaf cotoneaster has spread over large parts of the world - including the US, Australia and South Africa - mainly due to its international popularity as an ornamental plant.
Its spread in and around Barkly East was no doubt prompted by its addition to gardens, from where the plant 'escaped' into the mountains of the region, most likely via seeds passing through the digestive tracts of birds that are extremely partial to the silverleaf cotoneaster's bright red berries.
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