About Melaleuca cheelii C.T.White
Melaleuca cheelii grows to a height of 8 to 10 metres (26 to 33 feet). Its leaves are arranged in alternating opposite pairs, called decussate arrangement. Each leaf is elliptic in shape, 5 to 12.5 millimetres (0.2 to 0.5 inches) long and 2 to 6 millimetres (0.08 to 0.2 inches) wide. The flowers range in color from white to cream, and are arranged in spikes at the ends of branches. The branches continue growing after the plant finishes flowering. The flower spikes grow up to 40 millimetres (2 inches) long and 20 millimetres (0.8 inches) in diameter, and hold between 2 and 10 flowers. The petals are 2 to 2.7 millimetres (0.08 to 0.1 inches) long, and fall off after the flower opens. Stamens are arranged in 5 bundles around each flower, with each bundle containing 8 to 18 stamens. The main flowering season for this species is September. After flowering, woody fruit that are cup-shaped or barrel-shaped develop in loose clusters. Each fruit is 4 to 4.5 millimetres (0.16 to 0.18 inches) long. This melaleuca grows in wallum country near Bundaberg, Australia, including within Burrum Coast National Park and Meadowvale Nature Park in Bundaberg. In horticulture, this species is not well known in cultivation, but a specimen growing in the Australian National Botanic Gardens in Canberra is more than 20 years old, and other specimens have been grown successfully in Adelaide and Brisbane.
