Calle de las Adelfas

The name recalls a flower to look at but not to taste. The oleander is an evergreen shrub with pink or white flowers that thrives along dry gullies, ravines and riverbeds across the Mediterranean basin. The whole plant holds a poison that can disturb the heartbeat, hence its divided reputation: a common ornament on avenues, a danger to anyone who tries it. The Spanish word came from the Arabic ad-difla, thanks to the resemblance between its narrow leaves and those of the laurel. The street lies at the southern edge of Retiro, an area once known by a blunter nickname before today’s apartment blocks: Las Californias. It came from calle de California, the spine of a cluster of low houses and industrial sheds hard against the railway tracks. Urban renewal erased that street from the map, and years later the name was recovered for a nearby square. Anyone strolling along calle de las Adelfas today will find a public library and quiet blocks, far from the park’s gardens.