Flowers That Never Die: Exploring the In-Game Value of Digital Flowers

Out-Game Flowers—the genesis NFT collection by leading conceptual artist Jill Magid— is comprised of digital bouquets arranged with flowers from the world's most popular video games, including The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, Minecraft, and more. Jill Magid traveled through these iconic digital worlds, plucking stems from each virtual landscape to craft her first NFT-backed artwork. In their respective worlds, these pixelated plants and photo-realistic flowers are tied to complex economies that drive their value in-game and out. Read on to discover more about the unique in-game and out-game value for each flower in Magid's hand-hacked bouquets.

Yellow Flower

Game:  Final Fantasy VII
Native Currency: Gil (ギル — also translated as GP, Gold, & G)
In-game Value:  1 Gil ($0.01 USD)

The Yellow Flower blooms only in a deserted church in the polluted slums of the game's capital city and the home of flower peddler Aerith Gainsborough. A symbol of life and nature, it is closely associated with Aerith, whose ultimate fate is one of the most significant—and controversial—moments in Final Fantasy history.

Silent Princess

Game:  The Legend of Zelda
Native Currency: Rupees
In-game Value:  10 Green Rupees ($0.96 USD)

This rare wildflower is the favorite of Zelda, Princess of the Kingdom of Hyrule. Long-thought extinct, the Silent Princess only grows near Great Fairy Fountains. In addition to its uses as a crafting and cooking ingredient, legend tells that if a couple swears their love before its blossom, they will live a charmed life.

Flowey

Game: Undertale
Native Currency: Gold
In-game Value: Indeterminate

Flowey is a sentient creature created from the golden flowers found across the surface world in Undertale. Initially benign in appearance and demeanor, Flowey is quickly revealed to be a malicious force and the game's primary antagonist, always pushing the player to take violent actions.

Geographer

Game:  Ragnarok Online
Native Currency: Zenny
In-game Value: indeterminate.

Though it resembles a sunflower, the geographer isn't a flower at all — it's a monster. Rooted to the ground, its petal-like tentacles attract and ensnare its prey. When defeated, Geographers drop a range of items, including the incredibly rare "geographer card," which offers players myriad benefits.


Fire Flower

Game:  Super Mario Bros. & all other “Mario” games
Native Currency: Coins
In-game Value:  5-10 coins ($400K–$800K USD)

Perhaps the most iconic flower in video game history. The fire flower debuted in Super Mario Brother in 1985 and has appeared in nearly every game in the prolific franchise since. Found in “?” blocks, the fire flower grants players the ability to throw fireballs that can be used to defeat enemies, illuminate darkness, and melt ice.

Tulips

Game: Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Native Currency: Bells
In-game Value: 80 bells ($0.58 – $0.80 USD)

In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, tulips can be grown, bought and sold, and are even sometimes crossbred to create unique color variations. Tulips can be found and grown in players' gardens, where bugs often rest on them, and can be used decoratively to adorn a player's home.

Black Lotus

Game:  World of Warcraft Classic
Native Currency: Gold
In-game Value: 80-150g or .$80–$1.50 USD

The Black Lotus is an incredibly rare herb used to make some of the game’s most powerful potions. It can only be harvested by the highest level herbalists from a few select locations — or, even more rarely, from the bodies of defeated plant-like enemies. Some players have exploited this extreme rarity to manipulate the in-game marketplace.

Flowers

Game:  Runescape
Native Currency: Coins
In-game Value:  2,581–58,478 coins ($.09–$1.95 USD) as of this writing

In Runequest, flowers are grown from Mithril seeds, which can be obtained on a quest or bought from a Guild Shop for 300 coins. Useful for summoning familiars, the value of flowers depends on their rarity, from the common yellow flower to the rare—but useless—white flower.

Allium

Game: Minecraft
Native Currency: Minecoin
In-game Value: indeterminate

One of the rarest flowers in Minecraft, Allium only grow in the flower forest biome. The plant can be used to craft magenta dye or cooked with mushrooms to create a stew imbued with cooling properties. This purple pixelated, Minecraft’s Allium appear to be inspired by the real-world special Allium giganteum (Giant Ornamental Onion).

Dandelion

Game:  Minecraft
Native Currency: Minecoin
In-game Value:  indeterminate

One of the first flowers added to Minecraft during the game's development, dandelions are also one of the most common. Found in almost all biomes, they can be used to craft yellow dye for clothing to lure and breed rabbits.

Red Tulip

Game:  Minecraft
Native Currency: Minecoin
In-game Value:  indeterminate

Tulips are the only flowers in Minecraft that grow in multiple colors. Resembling a small heart, the red tulip can be used to craft red dye or to produce a stew that weakens whoever consumes it. They’re most frequently found in flower forest biomes but can be seen in some plains biomes as well.

Wither Rose

Game:  Minecraft
Native Currency: Minecoin
In-game Value:  indeterminate

Although this black flower appears in all biomes, it is extremely rare as it only grows where an in-game enemy is killed by the creature known as The Wither. Unlike other flowers, which produce beneficial effects, the Wither Rose poisons any in-game character that touches it — making them useful for constructing traps as well as producing black dye.

Cornflower

Game:  Minecraft
Native Currency: Minecoin
In-game Value:  indeterminate

The cornflower was added to Minecraft by popular request from real-life gardeners. Used for making blue dye or cooking in a stew that boosts a player’s jumping ability, its bright blue bloom is commonly found growing in the plains, but also seen in forest and mountain biomes.

Blue Orchid

Game:  Minecraft
Native Currency: Minecoin
In-game Value:  indeterminate

Like its real-world counterpart, Minecraft's blue orchids are visually distinctive and incredibly rare. They grow only in the game’s swamp biomes, and are used for crafting light blue dye.

Ice Flower

Game:  Super Mario Galaxy, New Super Mario Bros, Paper Mario, and other “Mario” games
Native Currency: Coins
In-game Value: 240 coins ($19.2M USD)

The Ice Flower debuted in the New Super Mario Bros. series, and its properties depend on the game in which it appears. It can either turn the player-character’s body into pure ice, protecting them from fire and letting them glide over water, or give them the ability to throw snowballs that freeze enemies into blocks of ice that can be thrown, shattered, or used as a platform.

Cloud Flower

Game: Super Mario Galaxy 2
Native Currency: Coins
In-game Value: 240 coins ($19.2M USD)

The most recent variation of the iconic “Fire Flower,” the Cloud Flower first appeared in Super Mario Galaxy 2. When activated, the flower improves the player-character’s jumping ability and empowers them to create three small clouds that can be used as temporary platforms to reach new heights.