The flowers are temporary but will appear over a long period even through the winter in mild climates. Once they have been pollinated either by them selves or by bees or other insects the flower will no longer be needed and will die leaving behind the seeds. When they are ripe they will fall to the ground. Some will be moved around by animals, birds etc. Nothing complicated about this very successful little annual. The link is from the UK but very informative. Here is a link that might be useful: Red dead nettle

Some varieties are shorter lived than others, and growing conditions have a great deal to do with the longevity of some aquilegia. Still, even if you treat it as a biennial, they are perennials. I certainly wouldn't spend money on the fancy ones if they were only biennials! So many of my perennials died after last summer's constant rain, a cold winter with very little snow cover, and then a long, harsh spring. But my columbine...what a treat...they are dancing all over the garden right now!

Well, that last tidbit sure sounds like Aralia racemosa; I am convinced now. Even though it still seems too lanky-maybe too much sun? HereÂs what my oldest one looks like: In its second year, it broke under its own weight on a windy day (or my husband knocked it over and never confessed). I thought it was a goner, but it came back bigger the next year. I discovered this year that the roots are also very brittle. My second one was planted in a VERY dark spot and was surviving but not really growing much. I tried moving to a new area of the yard, digging it up as carefully as I could, and it does not look like it survived. HereÂs the flower on top, working on blooming: Those knobby knees send out flowers, too--looks like your last pic shows one doing that: HereÂs pictures (from someone more professional than me!) of what it will look like in fruit: BTW, I was especially interested in the Corylus and Tilia suggestions, as I have found a couple of baby plants this spring that are either one or the other (or one of each)-I have a Basswood tree and a couple of Hazelnuts (Corylus Americana) that could be the parents. They are what first came to mind when I saw your plant because of the leaves, but I knew the stem wasnÂt right. IÂm still trying to decide for sure what my babies are, and came across this website from White Oak Nursery that shows the species of trees and shrubs that they offer in their small potted state. Left: Tilia Americana (Basswood) and Right: Corylus cornuta (Beaked Hazelnut)   I thought the website might be useful as it is often hard to find pictures of immature plants. They also have info on some native trees and shrubs that they donÂt carry (including Spikenard). Hope I haven't gone overboard with the pics and stuff--I'm just getting the hang of doing it and may get carried away! Here is a link that might be useful: White Oak Nursery

i'm actually really surprised it wasn't ID'd either, especially when you consider the competency i've experienced with the people i'd asked in the past (although the near-dozen people at Lowes, Home Depot and Ace weren't expected). i think the problem was my inclination to suggest i thought it was some variant of eupatorium. i think if i would have broken a leaf off and smelled it, i would have figured it out on my own - this is what worked for the two anise hyssop that came up on my side yard unexpectedly, and the tomatoes too. why wouldn't one of the MGs do the same, i wonder? either way, i really appreciate the ID. it's beautiful. if it wasn't such a profuse seeder, i'd put it in one of my raised beds with (the profuse seeding anise). maybe i'll do it anyway and try to control by pulling the seed heads. :)