South Coast Orchid Society

Kay Francis Photo Archive:
Full Resolution Image
Lc. Maria Ozzella 'Kay Francis' (top) and Blc. Great Island (bottom) (197209H4_1)

Lc. Maria Ozzella 'Kay Francis' (top) and Blc. Great Island (bottom), September, 1972. This may be the earliest photo of the hybrid that Kay eventually registered as Blc. Great Island. When she brought at least two seedlings back from Hawaii, from the nursery of Masatoshi Myamoto, they were identified in Kay's records either by their parentage ((Blc. Robert Gifford × Lc. Waianae Sunset) × Blc. Waikiki Sunset) or as "No. 580". Robert Gifford × Waianae Sunset was eventually registered< in 1984 by Edhi Widjaja, Surabaya, Indonesia, as Blc. Warni Sutiati, although we suspect it was actually originated by Miyamoto. Once that was accomplished, Kay corresponded with the Miyamoto nursery and obtained permission to register "No. 580" as Blc. Great Island, also in 1984. Miyamoto was famous for his disregard of paperwork, including correspondence, to the point where orchid growers in California are said to have learned to communicate with him by telephone. Other Southern California orchid hobbyists also stepped in to register a number of Miyamoto's hybrids, including Ed Wise, A. G. Tharp, Norito Hasegawa, and Don Herman.