What Is a Phalaenopsis Orchid? The Flower Behind Our Best-Selling Print

If you've bought a potted orchid from a supermarket or florist, there's a good chance it was a Phalaenopsis — it's the most widely grown orchid in the world, and the flower behind most of our collection.

Phalaenopsis gets its common name, "moth orchid," from an accident: in the 1750s, a Swedish naturalist spotted its blooms fluttering on a branch and mistook them for a swarm of moths. The name stuck.

What makes the Phalaenopsis distinctive is how long it blooms — often for months at a time, far longer than most flowering plants. That staying power has made it a symbol of patience, elegance, and quiet resilience in the language of flowers. In Victorian society, it was treated as a rare and prized possession, requiring real skill and patience to grow.

It's also a flower of enormous variety. Depending on the hybrid, its petals range from pure ivory to deep burgundy, from soft blush to gold speckled with wine-dark markings — which is exactly why our Phalaenopsis-based prints look so different from each other: Autumn Fest's blush and lavender, Dust Bunny's velvet burgundy, Rancho Bariloche's white-and-gold speckling, Pale Face Clown's harlequin blotching. Same species, entirely different flower.

Every one of these patterns is photographed directly from a real bloom, not drawn. Explore the full Orchid Collection to see the range for yourself.