Melaleuca decussata, commonly known as Cross-leaf Honey-myrtle or Totem Poles, is a shrub or small tree

Tree

A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...

 in the genus Melaleuca

Melaleuca

Melaleuca is a genus of plants in the myrtle family Myrtaceae known for its natural soothing and cleansing properties. There are well over 200 recognised species, most of which are endemic to Australia...

. It is native to South Australia and both native and naturalised in Victoria.

The species grows to 4 metres in height. The oblanceolate leaves are blue-green and are about 10 mm long and 3 mm wide. The pale purple flower spikes are 2 to 3 cm in length and appear from November to February in the species native range. These fade to white with age.

The species was first formally described by botanist Robert Brown

Robert Brown (botanist)

Robert Brown was a Scottish botanist and palaeobotanist who made important contributions to botany largely through his pioneering use of the microscope...

 in 1812 in the second edition of Hortus Kewensis

Hortus Kewensis

Hortus Kewensis, or a Catalogue of the Plants Cultivated in the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew by William Aiton was a 1789 catalogue of all the plant species then in cultivation at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, which constituted the vast majority of plant species in cultivation in all of England...

from material collected from the southern coastal region of Australia.

Melaleuca decussata occurs in low nutrient soils subject to inundation.