Calle Madreselva

The honeysuckle gives this street its name: the climber with bell-shaped flowers and sweet scent that covers walls and trellises, famous for the nectar drawn from the base of each bloom. The word comes from the Latin mater (mother) and silva (forest), as if it were the nourishing plant of the woods. Madreselva does not stand alone. It belongs to a handful of streets in this corner of Nueva España labeled with the names of plants and flowers. When the city absorbed the old town of Chamartín de la Rosa, many place names ended up duplicated, and to untangle the confusion they turned to plants and flowers: peaceful names, easy to tell apart, with no political or religious allegiance. No record survives of why the honeysuckle was chosen. What does fit is the gesture: a plant that thrives tangled on railings and balconies, lending its name to a quiet street where gardens still peek over the walls.