Did I plant this? I don’t know for memory does not tell me so but this secret let me tell: memory does not serve me well. Blooms in the offing, as you can see, and they may reveal all to me, but what if torrents from the sky first cause it to collapse and die? Six feet tall, up in the cloud; does that shout its name aloud?
Oh well! It's a clever verse and scans better without 'always'. I can't tell what the name of that plant may be but it has a very suspicious look to it in my opinion. Better keep an eye on it and deadhead before it produces seeds.
What about the last photo on this page: Erechtites hieraciifolius - Wildflowers of the National Capital Region (clockwork-orrery.com)? There seems to be some variation in the leaf margin, based on what's shown on that one page.
There once was a plant that grew tall Familiar? No, not at all. Buds it has got ID it has not Name sought ere toppling befall!
“The leaves are highly variable in size and shape. “ from the publication below (and check out Fig. 5): https://weedecology.css.cornell.edu/pubs/2012 Darbyshire et al. Published Erechtites CJPS 92-4-729-746.pdf @wcutler , I have no doubt the ID is correct. It seems it has already invaded BC. It is a horrible and ugly (especially when it seeds) weed. I recommend pulling it out ASAP. Otherwise you will be fighting seedlings for years.
On a slightly “positive” note, this could be the first (or one of the earliest) documented case of the appearance of this species in BC. I am sure there might be people dealing with invasive species in the area that will be interested to know about it. Not quite extraterrestrial, but certainly an alien invader…