Calle de las Balsaminas
It takes its name from the balsam, an ornamental garden flower, within a group of streets in Castillejos named after flowers.
Calle de las Balsaminas owes its name to a garden flower, the balsam, known on many Madrid balconies as miramelindos or alegría. It is a small plant with pink, purple or white petals, long grown for its easy and generous blooming in pots.
The corner belongs to a group of short streets in the Castillejos district signed with the names of flowers. A few steps away run those recalling lilies, gardenias and magnolias, so the map sketches a small botanical collection over the pavement. Castillejos, by contrast, takes its name from a battle in the African war of 1860.
The balsam holds a secret that explains its learned name, Impatiens, the impatient one. When the fruit ripens, a mere touch makes the capsule burst and fire its seeds several meters off, like a spring. Press a dry pod between your fingers and you feel the seed leap before you see it fall.