[2][3] The mineral may be granular or occur as internally radial aggregates of lamellar crystals arranged as globes, hemispheres, or sheafs, up to 1.5 cm (0.59 in).

[2] Messelite was discovered in Messel, Hesse, Germany, by a Dr. Spiegel who worked as technical director at a local factory.

[6] Wolfe concluded that the material was anapaite partially altered to collinsite and he discredited messelite as a valid mineral species.

[4] Messelite has been found in Austria, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Japan, Kazakhstan, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the United States.

Messelite occurs in association with amblygonite, anapaite, brazilianite, eosphorite, fairfieldite, goyazite, graftonite, herderite, hureaulite, ludlamite, phosphoferrite, siderite, triphylite, vivianite, and whitlockite.