A tiny, ancient plant, known in Spanish as palma corcho (Microcycas calocoma) is considered the world's oldest ''living fossil'' and grows in a village of Cuba's warm, arid east. Measuring 10 cm in height, it can be found in the herbarium of Cuban researcher Manuel Caluf, located in El Caney, Santiago province, some 900 km east of Havana.

This species, which existed during the Paleozoic era, 250 million years ago, is now in danger of extinction. It is very difficult to find the palma corcho outside its natural habitat in the island's mountain valleys.

There are thought to be around a thousand of these tiny plants in Cuba, and some may be as old as a thousand years.

The unique climate of El Caney is characterized by an average temperature of 25 degrees Celsius, relative humidity of 70 to 90 percent, and annual rainfall of 1,400 mm.