An odd dha with dried leaves on it

[Mark]

Great discussion! I see what you mean about the network of cross-veins between the major parallel veins. I am sure the plant is a "monocot" at any rate, a major division among flowering plants that includes grasses (like bamboo, corn, etc.), palm trees, lilies, and ti and many, many others.

I'm told there is no writing apparent on the leaves. I am struck by the pattern in which the leaves are pinned together. It is more than just folding and holding them together. One part looks folded end-to-end, another is folded at an angle, and another is sort of rolled and pinned flat.

And here is a crazy idea: its a duck. Don't laugh. Look at the last photo upside down - the squarish rolled-and-pinned piece is the head, the diagonal piece the neck, and the large bunch is the body. Maybe a cormorant. In fact, now that I look closely, the parts forming the "neck" and "head" seem to be all one leaf, cut to the mid-rib and fold around. At any rate, the diagonal edges on the "neck" are cut in.

Anybody see something else in the shape? That is all I could come up with after I started thinking its "messy" look might actually be deliberate.