Claim: Melaluca podiocarpa is a prickly shrub similar to Melaleuca cliffortioides that can grow up to eight feet in length.
Evidence: It is a spreading shrub with prickly foliage and small heads of white flowers mostly hidden within the foliage. Melaleuca podiocarpa is a shrub growing to 2.5 m (8 ft) tall. It is a small, prickly shrub very similar to Melaleuca podiocarpa but with fewer stamens in the flowers.