 "Melaleuca radula" was first formally described in 1839 by John Lindley in an appendix to "Edwards Botanical Register" entitled "A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony".The specific epithet ("radula") is derived from Latin word meaning “a scraper” but it is not clear why Lindley chose this name.This melaleuca occurs in and between the Kalbarri, Perth and Norseman districts in the Avon Wheatbelt, Coolgardie, Geraldton Sandplains, Jarrah Forest, Mallee, Murchison, Swan Coastal Plain and Yalgoo biogeographic regions.