John Boudreau, Bringing orchids down to earth. San Jose Mercury News, Dec. 31, 2009.
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_14103306?source=rss
("The flowers are now found in Costco, Wal-Mart and Trader Joe's for as little as $15 or less, a bargain for a plant that takes up to two years to grow and whose blooms can last as long as a month or two. Taiwan is the world's leading producer of phalaenopsis orchids, one of the most popular varieties.")
Note: Phalaenopsis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phalaenopsis
("The generic name means "Phalaen[a]-like" and is probably a reference to the genus Phalaena, the name given by Carolus Linnaeus to a group of large moths; the flowers of some species supposedly resemble moths in flight. For this reason, the species are sometimes called Moth orchids.")