Phalaenopsis schilleriana is a Philippine species that honored Consul Schiller, a Hamburg orchid enthusiast of the 1860s who reportedly cultivated it in extraordinary quantities in his greenhouse collection. It grows 6 to 12 inches tall with a spread of up to 2 feet, and despite the dominance of hybrids in the commercial market, it is considered the most widely cultivated true species in the genus. The leaves themselves are ornamentally valuable: broadly ovate, barred and mottled with silver-grey markings on the upper surface and often suffused with purple beneath.

Flowers are produced in generous panicles, large and pale pink in color, and because this species requires cool autumn nights to initiate its spikes, timing the chill period correctly is the key to reliable blooming. It is often grown mounted on cork or bark planks to mimic the way it naturally attaches to tree trunks in the Philippine forests. For gardeners in Zone 10a and above it can be displayed outdoors in containers or hanging baskets; elsewhere it belongs in a greenhouse or bright, humid interior space with the care and attention that species orchids require.