Calle de la Hiedra

Calle de la Hiedra names a common, tenacious plant: the evergreen climber that grips walls, trunks and fences until it covers them entirely. The name fits the Madrid custom of naming outer stretches after everyday flora. The street skirts the Colonia Los Rosales, built around 1928 as low-cost housing around a circular square, among streets like Levante and Poniente. Today it forms the border between that low-rise colony and the great Chamartín station. A viaduct crosses the railway tracks here, reopened in 2025 after being rebuilt for the new high-speed lines. A street with a plant’s name ended up laid over the rails.