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Abstract PremiseAsia's wet tropical forests face a severe biodiversity crisis, but few fossils record their evolutionary history. We recently discovered in situ cuticles on fossil leaves, attributed to the giant rainforest treeDryobalanopsof the iconic Dipterocarpaceae family, from the Plio‐Pleistocene of Brunei Darussalam (northern Borneo). Studying these specimens allowed us to validate the generic identification and delineate affinities to living dipterocarp species. MethodsWe compared the leaf cuticles and architecture of these fossil leaves with the seven livingDryobalanopsspecies. ResultsThe cuticular features shared between the fossils and extantDryobalanops, including the presence of giant stomata on veins, confirm their generic placement. The leaf characters are identical to those ofD. rappa, an IUCN red‐listed Endangered, northern Borneo endemic. TheD. rappamonodominance at the fossil site, along withDipterocarpusspp. leaf fossils, indicates a dipterocarp‐dominated forest near the mangrove‐swamp depocenter, most likely in an adjacent peatland. ConclusionsTheDryobalanops rappafossils are the first fossil evidence of a living endangered tropical tree species and show how analysis of in situ cuticles can help illuminate the poorly known floristic history of the Asian tropics. This discovery highlights new potential for fossils to inform heritage values and paleoconservation in Southeast Asia.