Bet you can't guess what this is

It's a real photo of a real object, not an artistic creation.  The little "spiky" things are the hardest to explain...

Answer tomorrow.

Update:  Although it looks like a macro image of an organic material, this is actually a photo of the surface of Mars taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.   The "spiky things" are landslides (slips) of red sand.  Further info re the photo at Discover.