Bushy needlewood

Silky hakea (Hakea sericea) is regarded as an environmental weed in Victoria and South Australia. In South Australia it is only noted, by the state herbarium, to be sparingly naturalised along roadsides and in sclerophyll forests in the Southern Lofty Mountains region. However, it regularly appears on local and regional environmental weed lists in this area and is even described as being a "common environmental weed" in the Adelaide region.
In Victoria, where it is known from a few scattered locations (e.g. at Anglesea and along the Carlisle River), it is occasionally regarded as a potentially significant environmental weed. Silky hakea (Hakea sericea) appears on some local environmental weed lists in this state (e.g. in the City of Hume) but its impact and distribution may be underestimated. This is because it has often been confused with the local native species known as bushy needlewood (Hakea decurrens).
Silky hakea (Hakea sericea) is also invasive in New Zealand and South Africa. It is particularly troublesome in South Africa, where it is a major weed in fynbos vegetation in the southern and south-western Cape Province regions. In New Zealand, research has shown that this early successional species may eventually be replaced by natives once again, if no further disturbance events (i.e. fires) occur in invaded areas.