page_title: Melaleuca spathulata
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Melaleuca spathulata / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: Melaleuca spathulata growing near Bluff Knoll Road
context_page_description: Melaleuca spathulata is a shrub in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a well known garden shrub featuring dark green leaves against light-coloured foliage, many twisted branches and profuse heads of bright pink "pom pom" flower heads in spring or early summer.
context_section_description: Melaleuca spathulata is a shrub with light grey, papery bark which grows to a height of 2 m (7 ft). Its branches are often twisted and mostly glabrous. The leaves are arranged alternately, well-spaced along the branchlets, 2.5–9.5 mm (0.1–0.4 in) long, 1.5–2.7 mm (0.06–0.1 in) wide, egg-shaped to spoon-shaped and tapering to a point. The leaves have a mid-vein and a number of indistinct parallel veins.
  The flowers are a shade of pink to purple and are arranged in spikes on the ends of branches which continue to grow after flowering, and sometimes in the upper leaf axils. The spikes contain 2 to 9 groups of flowers in threes and are up to 10 mm (0.4 in) in diameter and  20 mm (0.8 in) long. The stamens are arranged in five bundles around the flowers and each bundle contains 2 to 5 (mostly 3) stamens. Flowering occurs between September and January and is followed by fruit which are woody capsules 2–2.5 mm (0.08–0.1 in) long in almost spherical clusters which are up to 10 mm (0.4 in) in diameter.
caption: M. spathulata fruit
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