Slc Barefoot Mailman 'H&R'

[catwalker808]

(L. briegeri x Slc Madge Fordyce, registered by Everglades Orchids, 1985).

The pictured flower is blooming now. It's a select plant we bloomed years ago from our remake of the cross.

Interesting story behind the registered name. When I first saw the name, I pictured an indiscreet letter carrier climbing out a window and scurrying off to escape, barefoot in his haste, carrying his shoes.

But more than 20 years ago, an old time Florida grower (who has since passed on) told me the real reason behind the unusual name the registrant had given. The story teller had been a letter carrier in his younger days, when many homes were located along the beaches and reaching them by the long unpaved dirt roads was difficult. Instead, letter carriers walked along the beaches to deliver mail to those homes.

As we all know, walking along the beach in shoes is very difficult. So the mailmen walked barefoot between the widely spaced beach homes. That's an amusing image ... and an imaginative name for an orchid.