Collected some seed pods after the passing of a family member last fall, so have no details about what the plant looked like when it was alive. His garden was pretty unkempt, so it's definitely a strong possibility that this was a weed!

I know I can just start some of the seeds, but figured that perhaps someone on here might know what it it is just by looking at them. If memory serves, the plant stood about 75cm - 1 m (about 2.5 - 3 ft) tall. There were no leaves left on the plant at all, just a lot of these seedpods (The white flowers in the picture are not from the same plant, in case that's not obvious). Also of note, I just realized that this plant was unique in that it was completely dead and dried out before the others. This was in Owen Sound, Ontario zone 5b, Sept 15, 2013.

Any ideas?