The specific epithet vitellinum is from the Latin meaning 'egg-yolk yellow', referring to the colour of the flower petals.

[2] Xanthophyllum vitellinum grows as a shrub or tree up to 25 metres (80 ft) tall with a trunk diameter of up to 40 centimetres (20 in).

The flowers are yellow or white, drying orange to dark reddish.

[2] Xanthophyllum vitellinum grows naturally in Thailand and western Malesia.

Its habitat is mixed dipterocarp, riverine or lower montane forests from sea-level to 800 metres (2,600 ft) altitude.