What is this???

I saw this as I was driving along and stopped to blip. It is a strange plantlike growth - that seemed to be taking over. Loved the weird look of it and it summed up my fuzzy thoughts today. Looked like disconnected synapses close up ...

Realised I must have looked rather strange getting out of my car and pausing to take photographs of a hedge. Didn't notice much in the way of curtain twitching and I didn't have a telephoto lens so hopefully viewed as harmless.

Please note - swan free!