There are two different species of maianthemum that have been in the woods since I moved here (recently a third species has shown up, but that’s a story for later). Maianthemums (a genus also commonly known as false solomon’s seal) have a lot of interesting facets, but one thing I find particularly cool is their semi-ripe berries. When ripe, they’re small, red, and not too distinctive looking. But when they’re still ripening, one of the species here has spotted berries (maianthemum racemosum, also known as Solomon’s plume), and the other species has striped berries (maianthemum stellatum, also known as starry false solomon’s seal).
One time, while walking in the woods, I found this; these are the fully ripe berries of Solomon’s plume (possibly even a bit overripe, but at least a bit shriveled), and they do look quite cool dried up like this. I think most of the time the berries get eaten before they get to this stage, and it seems especially unusual to get to this stage with the full cluster intact like this.