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.

From real flowers to abstract art, inspired by nature. We draw on the colors, markings and textures of real flowers, transforming their natural details into abstract patterns designed to be worn. Explore full Orchid Collection.