Castanopsis hypophoenicea is a plant species locally known as pedayang (Dusun), berangan bo (Iban) and wau (Bidayuh). The bole of this species measures roughly 60 cm in diameter and can reach a height of 30 m. The rough bark is greyish in colour with a pale yellow to reddish inner bark. The sapwood is yellowish white in appearance. The twigs are sparsely (thinly) minute-lenticellate. The stipules are ovate in form. Its coriaceous (having a leathery texture), elliptic or oblong leaves are glabrous (smooth) above and sparsely (thinly) to densely covered with appressed stellae and hirsute hairs below. Male flowers are arranged in clusters of 3-5 along the rachis with obtuse perianth lobes, while female flowers are distributed singly with acute perianth lobes. Each subsessile ovoid-shaped cupule has only one ovoid seed with a thin wall (Soepadmo & Saw, 2000).

Castanopsis hypophoenicea can be found at elevations of up to 800 m in primary and secondary hill mixed dipterocarp forests. This species is found primarily in Sabah. In Sarawak, it is common in Kapit, Kuching and Sarikei districts. It is endemic to Borneo (Soepadmo & Saw, 2000).