High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Balmea is a monospecific genus of flowering plants in the Rubiaceae family. The genus contains only one species, i.e. Balmea stormae, which is found in El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico. It is locally known as ayuque. The plant is picked for its scarlet flowers, and the whole plant is sold on Mexican markets as a Christmas tree. Because populations are depleted as soon as they are discovered, this species is threatened with extinction.