[2] Hardy and adaptable, with a dense crown of leaves and prolific heads of pink or purple flowers in late spring and summer, it is one of the most commonly cultivated melaleuca shrubs.

[3][4][5] Melaleuca nesophila was first formally described in 1862 by Ferdinand von Mueller in Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae[6] from a specimen collected on the rocks of the Doubtful Islands near Bremer Bay by Augustus Oldfield.

[3] Melaleuca nesophila occurs in the Gairdner River and East Mount Barren districts as well as nearby offshore islands, in the Esperance Plains biogeographic region.

[9] This species is naturalised in some parts of Victoria where it is considered a serious environmental weed because it replaces indigenous vegetation.

[10] This species is classified as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife.