Bleached skeleton of winter

I was at the nature reserve today, checking a few things. I visited a slope where we've thinned the trees and Stinking hellebore, Helleborus foetidus, has expanded from one plant about five years ago to around 24 this winter. On looking closely at one of the nice clumps I spotted this - the skeletal remains of one of last year's seed pods. I have never seen one with the veins preserved like this before. You can make out the classic three-compartment seed pod arrangement of many members of the buttercup family. It struck me as being like a miniature exotic lobster pot, miles from the sea - an idea that cheered me as the stinging hail started to fall.