It is one of the smallest species of Melaleuca, distinguished by its narrow, usually hairy, pimply leaves, small heads of pink to purple flowers surrounded by silky hairs and scattered rather than clustered fruits.Melaleuca papillosa is a shrub sometimes growing to 1.2 m (4 ft) tall.

Flowering occurs mainly in September and October, and is followed by fruit which are woody, cup-shaped capsules, 3.8–5 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long, scattered along the stem.

[2][3] Melaleuca papillosa was first formally described in 1999 by Lyndley Craven in Australian Systematic Botany from a specimen collected in the Fitzgerald River National Park.

[4][5] The specific epithet (papillosa) is derived from the Latin word papilla meaning "nipple"[6] referring to the pimply surface of the leaves.

[8] Melaleuca papillosa is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife.