The fruits which follow are woody capsules 7–9 millimetres (0.3–0.4 in) in diameter, shaped like a squashed urn and arranged in alternating pairs along the stems.

[1][2] Melaleuca fulgens was first formally described by the botanist Robert Brown in William Aiton's Hortus Kewensis in 1812.

[3][4] In 1990, the species was separated into three subspecies by Kirsten Cowley, Frances Quinn, Bryan Barlow and Lyndley Craven in Australian Systematic Botany.

fulgens occurs in and between the Paynes Find, Great Victoria Desert and Israelite Bay districts in the Avon Wheatbelt, Coolgardie, Esperance Plains, Geraldton Sandplains, Great Victoria Desert, Mallee, Murchison and Yalgoo biogeographic regions.

[8] This subspecies of Melaleuca fulgens is commonly grown in Australian gardens but requires full sun and excellent drainage for best results.