Melaleuca pungens grows to about 0.5–1.0 m (2–3 ft) high and wide. The leaves are nearly linear, 10–35 mm (0.4–1 in) long and about 1 mm (0.04 in) wide, lack a stalk, spread in all directions and have a small, sharp point on the end making the plant exceptionally prickly. New growth is silky. The bright yellow flowers appear in September and October, are numerous and in rounded or elongated heads about 15 millimetres (0.6 in) wide. The leaves and flower stalks are covered with fine, soft hairs. The fruit are fused together in clusters, 3–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) wide.[2][3]
Melaleuca pungens was first formally described in 1844 by Johannes Conrad Schauer in Plantae Preissianae.[4][5] The specific epithet (pungens) is from the Latinpungens meaning "sharp", "acrid", "piercing" or "biting".[6]
Melaleuca pungens adapts well to temperate areas with well-drained, acidic to neutral soils. It is frost hardy and can be grown readily from cuttings.[2]
^ abHolliday, Ivan (2004). Melaleucas: a field and garden guide (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Reed New Holland Publishers. pp. 232–233. ISBN1876334983.
^Brophy, Joseph J.; Craven, Lyndley A.; Doran, John C. (2013). Melaleucas : their botany, essential oils and uses. Canberra: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research. p. 296. ISBN9781922137517.
^Lehmann, J.G.C., ed. (1844). Plantae Preissianae. p. 138. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
^Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 148.
^Paczkowska, Grazyna; Chapman, Alex R. (2000). The Western Australian flora : a descriptive catalogue. Perth: Wildflower Society of Western Australia. p. 397. ISBN0646402439.
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