It is placed in its own subgenus Casteneophyllum, and it has been proposed that this species should be separated out into its own genus.

[2] The plant is named after Arthur Kerr, who collected the type specimen in Laos in 1932.

[3] Platanus kerrii is native to Laos and Vietnam, where it is called "ma nang" or "chò nước" in Vietnamese.

[1] It differs from other species in the genus in being a tropical plant, evergreen, having unlobed leaves, and in the leaf stem not enclosing the axillary bud at its base.

The fruits are borne in globose heads, each of which is sessile on a long peduncle.