# @ahs_gardening on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DQ2gES4EoE-
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/55035521-ahs-gardening-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/08f89bfe19.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-11-09T21:56:15.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** American Horticultural Society | American Gardener Magazine (@ahs_gardening) — https://gondola.cc/ahs_gardening

## Caption

Have you noticed that hibiscus flowers are losing their bullseyes? 👀🌺⁠
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I thought I was imagining it—but turns out, I wasn’t. That vivid ring at the center of the bloom isn’t just garden drama; it actually helps attract pollinators and shields pollen from UV damage.⁠
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Researchers at the Sainsbury Laboratory in Cambridge recently discovered that some hibiscus are quietly changing. A gene called BERRY1 controls that target pattern, and when it mutates, the bullseye fades—or disappears altogether. ⁠
Why? ⁠
Possibly because pollinators are shifting… or maybe the environment is nudging plants to adapt in real time.⁠
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It’s one of those stories that makes you realize how alive and responsive plants really are. 🌿⁠
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We wrote about it (and a few other botanical oddities) in the September/October issue of American Gardener. You can read “How the Hibiscus Lost Its Bullseye” on page 9 or find it online at ahsgardening.org.⁠
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Not a member yet? Join us at connect.ahsgardening.org/join — and let’s keep learning from the plants that keep surprising us.⁠
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#ahsgardening #americangardener #horticulture #horticulturalnews #plantnews #gardening #hibiscusbullseye #berry1 #hibiscus #hibiscusflower #sustainablegardening #gardennews #americanhorticulturalsociety

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## Tags

americangardener, hibiscusflower, hibiscusbullseye, gardening, berry1, ahsgardening, sustainablegardening, hibiscus, gardennews, horticulture, plantnews, horticulturalnews, americanhorticulturalsociety

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