@Sarcelle , all thistles are broadly similar in appearance and artichoke thistle can be distinguished by its greyish foliage and stems and the broad, flat grey-green bracts surrounding the buds and flower clusters. Scottish thistle (Onopordum acanthium) has similar grey or silvery colouration, but the bracts surrounding its flower clusters are much narrower and more numerous and the leaves are not as deeply lobed…
Have to ask Greenfields, given Australia is beset with killer dingos, Australian Brown snakes, Inland tai pans, coastal tai pans, tiger snakes, mulga snakes, blue ringed octopi, salt water crocodiles, great white sharks, sea snakes, and a whole host of killer insects and other crustaceans and fish, is this tree one of the only things in Australia that won’t kill you? Then again, in the picture, I don’t see anyone standing under them.
Boneseed can be found throughout south-eastern Australia and coastal New South Wales, where it is widespread, mostly as scattered plants or small populations.