What is this strange orchid?

[Wade Coleman]

So I was with some friends yesterday at Costco and usually I can usually resist the urge to buy those fancied up orchids they have on display, but this time I succumbed to temptation... The plant itself is a Phalaenopsis, but the lip is insane looking! It looks like somebody got a rolling pin and rolled over the top of it. I am just wondering what causes the lip to look like this. Is it some kind of mutation or cross between some other plant? I am in awe!

[Roberta]

These "big lip" Phals are one of the recent lines of breeding. No doubt at some point there was a mutation that was used in breeding, it persisted, and started a new direction ... novelty sells. Harlequin Phals (with spots and other patterns) got started the same way, they were unique for awhile but now are quite common.

[aliceinwl]

I think it’s mutation and breeding. There’s an article that’s available: (PDF) Big-Lipped Phalaenopsis: Breeding of Big-Lip Phalaenopsis and its Achievements in Taiwan

[MrHappyRotter]

It's peloric.

Peloria is a condition in orchids where the petals take on characteristics of the lip or the lip takes on characteristics of the petals. It's very common in Phalaenopsis and Cattleya alliance breeding, and even happens naturally in some species (look at a photo of Phragmipedium lindenii, the ladyslipper with no slipper).

In the case of your Phalaenopsis, the lip is reverting back to the shape and color of a petal, but it's not quite a perfect match for a petal. That's called partial peloria. Peloria can result in barely detectable changes all the way up to complete and totally undifferentiated flower segments. Also, this form of peloria (where the lip becomes more petal-like) is much less common in popularly available orchids, but there are are other Phal clones and hybrids as well as Dendrobiums and probably other genera available with a similar "big lip" or "no lip" appearance.