Mystery

I received a beautiful bouquet from a dear friend, this mystery 'flower' was in among a lot of greenery, with two smaller thistle type things and something that looks like statice but is dyed this same colour.. This is about 5 inches long with a centre like another flower inside. The stem is too hard to cut with scissors. I don't even know if its a flower. Intriguing. Anyone enlighten me please?
Gorgeous colour.