Looks like zinnia.

I think you're right!

wait, I think it might not be Zinnia:
1. Zinnia leaves do not have petioles, and they are paired opposite the stem, or sometimes occur in 3's, but never in worls of 4.
2. The stem of this unknown plant has a square cross section, and Zinnias do not.

black eyed susan came to mind... a young gallardia???? ... but its just a guess ....

ken

ps: the common name entertains me ...

Here is a link that might be useful: ken

Actually, a friend suggests it might be Rubia chinensis. But why would that be planted in Michigan?

Here is a link that might be useful: Rubia chinensis is a good match

This post was edited by penguu on Wed, Jan 15, 14 at 7:10

Maybe it is Galium circaezans, forest bedstraw, which also is in the Rubiaceae family and is found in Michigan. (Scroll down for pics.)

we need a scale here ... how big are those leaves in your pic???? ... and inch by two???? .. or so ????

susan suggests a mini plant.. the gallardia is huge.. relatively speaking... did you see the link i mis-named after myself.. lol.. whats that all about ....

and i have no clue how you jumped to rubia .. and it doesnt even look close to your pic ...

common gallardia is slightly seed borne in my z5 Adrian MI garden ...

its extremely rare .. but it does happen ... which means.. a bird/vermin ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: LINK .... not KEN ...lol

Penguu -- you do not say WHEN the photo was taken (surely not outdoors in MI right now!! LOL), the habitat in which it is/was growing, and there is no frame of reference for the size.
Those wholed leaves are pretty distinctive...
How about a few more clues?

I didn't take the photo. It was taken by a tourist from another country who is only now organizing her photos and putting names to plants. I've messaged the photographer for more details so we'll see?

When Rubia was suggested I balked. It certainly looked like no Rubia I've ever seen, but then Rubia chinensis was shown to me (see link from a few posts up) and it looked like a close match...

Susanc I'll look through the Galliums again!

Ken: lol I saw you named the link after yourself. Gardenweb certainly has a strange format for submitting links.

Reminds me of Cyanus Montana (Earlier called Centaurea Montana)

No, not Cyanus Montana. Leaves wrong.

Wild guess...Cornus canadensis?

This post was edited by jaynine on Thu, Jan 16, 14 at 13:24