I am puzzled by this flower as it looks like it has both the yellow and yellow-eyed and maybe even a white variety in the same flowering head. What is going on here? It was photographed in Arches National Park near Moab Utah early May.
This is probably what is going on but one of the blossoms had a yellow center. The white blossom looked to be in good shape and not senescing. Other plants in the same are did have paler yellow blossoms of a uniform color that did look like they were on their way out.
Most photos of Cryptantha flava show this dimorphism. http://www.canyoneeringusa.com/rave/08escafl/cryptantha.htm http://www.swcoloradowildflowers.com/Yellow Enlarged Photo Pages/oreocarya flava.htm Here is a small discussion of this phenomenon: http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelandanita/7570732886/ Probably, it is a tribute to the genus which includes mostly whites except the two species.
