Looks like spiderwort, a.k.a. tradescantia. There's also a white version.

Sue



"DigitalVinyl" wrote in message
...
My landlord asked me if I knew what this was. I haven't spotted it
anywhere on line yet.

http://members.aol.com/digitalvinyl66/cornflower.jpg

It grows about 15-18" high. The plant is a stalk that looks like young
corn. It has a cluster of flower heads drooping at the top, but they
tend to open one or two at a time. The flower are a deep purple with
yellow stamen. It grows in a jam-packed cluster that wilts over
spreading out and flattened...probably from rain...but will spring
back and be upright again.

I honestly haven't paid attention if the top growth hangs about in
winter, but it is there year after year. It is very resilent. The
biggest bunch of it is about 2-3 feet across and more than a foot
thick. It is flourishing despite the shade of a bush that is becoming
a tree next to it. They tried to get rid of it growing around a
downspout but it has been returning there for 30 years. It gets direct
sun there, and seems to flower more consistently with sun.

NY, near NYC Zone 7, (reclassified this year from Zone 6)
DiGiTAL_ViNYL (no email)