Phalaenopsis Blume
moth orchids · Orchidaceae
- Accepted name
- Phalaenopsis Blume
- First published
- Bijdr. Fl. Ned. Ind.: 294 (1825)
- Family
- Orchidaceae
- Accepted species
- 93 (including 10 natural hybrids)
- Native range
- 34 TDWG regions, tropical and subtropical Asia to north-eastern Australia
- Common names
- moth orchids
- Databases
- POWO · IPNI · WCVP · Catalogue of Life · GBIF
Overview
Phalaenopsis is a genus of the orchid family; most moth orchids sold by florists are hybrids selected over many generations. Genus, wild species, grex and an individual clone are different levels.
The native range runs from tropical and subtropical Asia to north-eastern Australia. Many species grow on tree trunks or branches, which give them support and diffuse light; the roots take air, rain and nutrients from the bark surface and do not draw sap from the tree.
Moth orchids usually grow monopodially: a short stem keeps producing new leaves at its tip, roots arise from the stem and inflorescences usually come from the leaf axils. The common commercial types have no obvious pseudobulb; fleshy leaves and roots store water.
Classification and naming
Blume published Phalaenopsis in 1825. Its usual placement is family Orchidaceae, subfamily Epidendroideae, tribe Vandeae, subtribe Aeridinae. The name means “moth-like”, hence the English “moth orchid”.
Classification changes with molecular evidence. WCVP currently treats the generic names in the table below as synonyms of Phalaenopsis, so names such as Doritis, Kingidium or Polychilos on old labels and in older literature can be traced to this genus.
| Genus name | Published in |
|---|---|
| Doritis Lindl. | Gen. Sp. Orchid. Pl.: 178 (1833) |
| Grafia A.D.Hawkes | Phytologia 13: 305 (1966) |
| Grussia M.Wolff | Orchid. Atlas: 165 (2007) |
| Hygrochilus Pfitzer | H.G.A.Engler & K.A.E.Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenfam., Nachtr. 1: 112 (1897) |
| Kingidium P.F.Hunt | Kew Bull. 24: 97 (1970) |
| Kingiella Rolfe | Orchid Rev. 25: 196 (1917) |
| Lesliea Seidenf. | Opera Bot. 95: 190 (1988) |
| Nothodoritis Z.H.Tsi | Acta Phytotax. Sin. 27: 58 (1989) |
| Ornithochilus (Lindl.) Wall. ex Heynh. | Alph. Aufz. Gew. 2: 457 (1846) |
| Polychilos Breda | Gen. Sp. Orchid. Asclep. 1: t. [1] (1828) |
| Polystylus Hasselt ex Hassk. | Retzia 1: 3 (1855) |
| Sedirea Garay & H.R.Sweet | Orchids S. Ryukyu Is.: 149 (1974) |
| Stauritis Rchb.f. | Hamburger Garten- Blumenzeitung 18: 34 (1862) |
| Stauroglottis Schauer | Nov. Actorum Acad. Caes. Leop.-Carol. Nat. Cur. 19(Suppl. 1): 432 (1843) |
| Synadena Raf. | Fl. Tellur. 4: 9 (1838) |
Distribution
WCVP records the genus as native to 34 TDWG botanical regions and introduced in 1 more.
Andaman Is.AssamBangladeshBismarck ArchipelagoBorneoCambodiaChina North-CentralChina South-CentralChina SoutheastEast HimalayaHainanIndiaJapanJawaKoreaLaosLesser Sunda Is.MalayaMalukuMyanmarNansei-shotoNepalNew GuineaNicobar Is.PhilippinesQueenslandSri LankaSulawesiSumateraTaiwanThailandTibetVietnamWest Himalaya
Introduced
Panamá
Accepted species
WCVP accepts 93 species; names with × are natural hybrids. The count changes with revisions; checked 2026-10-19.
| Name | On this site |
|---|---|
| Phalaenopsis amabilis (L.) Blume | reference page · 6 plates |
| Phalaenopsis amboinensis J.J.Sm. | |
| Phalaenopsis × amphitrite Kraenzl. | |
| Phalaenopsis aphrodite Rchb.f. | |
| Phalaenopsis appendiculata Carr | |
| Phalaenopsis bastianii O.Gruss & Roellke | |
| Phalaenopsis bellina (Rchb.f.) Christenson | |
| Phalaenopsis boulbetii (Telepova) J.M.H.Shaw | |
| Phalaenopsis braceana (Hook.f.) Christenson | |
| Phalaenopsis cacharensis (Barbhuiya, B.K.Dutta & Schuit.) Kocyan & Schuit. | |
| Phalaenopsis celebensis H.R.Sweet | |
| Phalaenopsis chibae T.Yukawa | |
| Phalaenopsis cochlearis Holttum | |
| Phalaenopsis corningiana Rchb.f. | |
| Phalaenopsis cornu-cervi (Breda) Blume & Rchb.f. | |
| Phalaenopsis deliciosa Rchb.f. | 1 plate |
| Phalaenopsis difformis (Wall. ex Lindl.) Kocyan & Schuit. | |
| Phalaenopsis doweryensis Garay & Christenson | |
| Phalaenopsis equestris (Schauer) Rchb.f. | 1 plate |
| Phalaenopsis fasciata Rchb.f. | |
| Phalaenopsis fimbriata J.J.Sm. | |
| Phalaenopsis finleyi Christenson | |
| Phalaenopsis floresensis Fowlie | |
| Phalaenopsis formosana (Christenson) J.M.H.Shaw | |
| Phalaenopsis fuscata Rchb.f. | |
| Phalaenopsis × gersenii (Teijsm. & Binn.) Rolfe | |
| Phalaenopsis gibbosa H.R.Sweet | |
| Phalaenopsis gigantea J.J.Sm. | |
| Phalaenopsis hieroglyphica (Rchb.f.) H.R.Sweet | |
| Phalaenopsis honghenensis F.Y.Liu | |
| Phalaenopsis hookeriana (O.Gruss & Roellke) O.Gruss | |
| Phalaenopsis inscriptiosinensis Fowlie | |
| Phalaenopsis × intermedia Lindl. | 1 plate |
| Phalaenopsis japonica (Rchb.f.) Kocyan & Schuit. | |
| Phalaenopsis javanica J.J.Sm. | |
| Phalaenopsis kapuasensis Metusala & P.O'Byrne | |
| Phalaenopsis kunstleri Hook.f. | |
| Phalaenopsis laotica (O.Gruss & Aver.) O.Gruss | |
| Phalaenopsis × leda Rolfe | |
| Phalaenopsis × leucorrhoda Rchb.f. | |
| Phalaenopsis lindenii Loher | |
| Phalaenopsis lobbii (Rchb.f.) H.R.Sweet | |
| Phalaenopsis × lotubela O.Gruss, Cavestro & G.Benk | |
| Phalaenopsis lowii Rchb.f. | |
| Phalaenopsis lueddemanniana Rchb.f. | |
| Phalaenopsis luteola Burb. ex Garay, Christenson & O.Gruss | |
| Phalaenopsis maculata Rchb.f. | |
| Phalaenopsis malipoensis Z.J.Liu & S.C.Chen | |
| Phalaenopsis mannii Rchb.f. | |
| Phalaenopsis mariae Burb. ex R.Warner & H.Williams | |
| Phalaenopsis marriottiana (Rchb.f.) Kocyan & Schuit. | |
| Phalaenopsis medogensis X.H.Jin & C.B.Ma | |
| Phalaenopsis mentawaiensis O.Gruss | |
| Phalaenopsis micholitzii Sander ex H.J.Veitch | |
| Phalaenopsis mirabilis (Seidenf.) Schuit. | |
| Phalaenopsis modesta J.J.Sm. | |
| Phalaenopsis mysorensis C.J.Saldanha | |
| Phalaenopsis natmataungensis (T.Yukawa, Nob.Tanaka & J.Murata) Dalström & Ormerod | |
| Phalaenopsis pallens (Lindl.) Rchb.f. | |
| Phalaenopsis pantherina Rchb.f. | |
| Phalaenopsis parishii Rchb.f. | |
| Phalaenopsis philippinensis Golamco ex Fowlie & C.Z.Tang | |
| Phalaenopsis pulcherrima (Lindl.) J.J.Sm. | |
| Phalaenopsis pulchra (Rchb.f.) H.R.Sweet | |
| Phalaenopsis putaoensis X.H.Jin & H.A.Mung | |
| Phalaenopsis quadridentata M.Khanal & Kumar | |
| Phalaenopsis reichenbachiana Rchb.f. & Sander | |
| Phalaenopsis robinsonii J.J.Sm. | |
| Phalaenopsis × rolfeana H.R.Sweet | |
| Phalaenopsis rundumensis P.J.Cribb & A.Lamb | |
| Phalaenopsis sabahensis (R.Rice) R.Kr.Singh & Sanjeet Kumar | |
| Phalaenopsis sanderiana Rchb.f. | 1 plate |
| Phalaenopsis schilleriana Rchb.f. | 2 plates |
| Phalaenopsis × singuliflora J.J.Sm. | |
| Phalaenopsis stobartiana Rchb.f. | |
| Phalaenopsis stuartiana Rchb.f. | 1 plate |
| Phalaenopsis subparishii (Z.H.Tsi) Kocyan & Schuit. | |
| Phalaenopsis sumatrana Korth. & Rchb.f. | |
| Phalaenopsis taenialis (Lindl.) Christenson & Pradhan | |
| Phalaenopsis tengchongensis Z.J.Liu, S.R.Lan & O.Gruss | |
| Phalaenopsis tetraspis Rchb.f. | |
| Phalaenopsis thailandica O.Gruss & Roeth | |
| Phalaenopsis tsii (M.H.Li, Z.J.Liu & S.R.Lan) Hua Deng, Z.J.Liu & Yan Wang | |
| Phalaenopsis ubonensis (O.Gruss) J.M.H.Shaw | |
| Phalaenopsis × valentinii Rchb.f. | |
| Phalaenopsis × veitchiana Rchb.f. | |
| Phalaenopsis venosa Shim & Fowlie | |
| Phalaenopsis violacea H.Witte | |
| Phalaenopsis viridis J.J.Sm. | |
| Phalaenopsis wilsonii Rolfe | |
| Phalaenopsis yingjiangensis (Z.H.Tsi) Kocyan & Schuit. | |
| Phalaenopsis zhanhuoana X.H.Jin & Shi Y.Qin | |
| Phalaenopsis zhejiangensis (Z.H.Tsi) Schuit. |
Historic plates
Plates in date order; the printed names are kept as they appear, current names are on the species pages and the topic page.
Phalaenopsis amabilis
Curtis's Botanical Magazine · 4297 · 1847
Walter Hood Fitch
Phalaenopsis grandiflora
Curtis's Botanical Magazine · 5184 · 1860
Walter Hood Fitch
Phalaenopsis rosea
Curtis's Botanical Magazine · 5212 · 1860
Walter Hood Fitch
Phalaenopsis schilleriana Reichb. f.
L'Illustration horticole · 348 · 1863
P. Stroobant, L. Stroobant
Phalaenopsis schilleriana
Curtis's Botanical Magazine · 5530 · 1865
Walter Hood Fitch
Phalaenopsis grandiflora（正文）
A Second Century of Orchidaceous Plants · Pl. 114 · 1867
Walter Hood Fitch
Phalaenopsis grandiflora
The Orchid Album · Pl. 277 · 1887
John Nugent Fitch
Phalaenopsis grandiflora aurea
Reichenbachia: Orchids Illustrated and Described · Tab. 11 · 1888
Henry George Moon, Joseph Mansell
Phalaenopsis Stuartiana
Reichenbachia: Orchids Illustrated and Described · Tab. 42 · 1888
Henry George Moon, Joseph Mansell
Phalaenopsis Sanderiana
Reichenbachia: Orchids Illustrated and Described · Tab. 68 · 1892–1894
Phalaenopsis intermedia Portei
Henry George Moon, Joseph Mansell
Phalaenopsis amabilis Bl.
Die Orchideen von Java, Figuren-Atlas · fig. CDXVI–CDXVII · 1912
Phalaenopsis Hebe Rchb. f.
Johannes Jacobus Smith, M. Kromohardjo
Horticulture and breeding
The spread of the potted moth orchid rests on three linked steps: breeding, seed and tissue-culture propagation, and greenhouse scheduling of flowering. Early white and pink lines aimed at flower shape and cut-flower quality; the pot-plant market later added compact habit, branching spikes, flower count, patterning and scent.
A hybrid group (grex) comes from a defined cross and can be searched by grex or parentage in the RHS International Orchid Register; trade names and colour descriptions do not replace a traceable cultivar name.
References
- WCVP · World Checklist of Vascular Plants (via ChecklistBank dataset 2232) · accessed 2026-10-19
- Kew POWO · Phalaenopsis: classification and distribution
- University of Maryland Extension · Care of Phalaenopsis Orchids
- Griesbach 2002 · Development of Phalaenopsis Orchids for the Mass-Market
- RHS · International Orchid Register