Plant identification please!

[Scentofwater]

Hi, hope you can help solve this mystery! Any ideas what this is?

It's only growing about 30 cm high, (smaller than the heather behind it) its evergreen, leaves a bit like bay. It's taking over a bed and has incredible thick roots that it is using to spread sideways.

I haven't been at this house for a full year yet so hoping you're going to tell me it has beautiful flowers or other redeeming features- no sign of any so far!

Really grateful for any ideas!

Could be a type of Persicaria, a low level creeping plane with vertical pink spikes of small flowers.

Hard to tell but it looks a bit like Viburnum tinus leaves. I am wondering if there was a large bush originally which was cut down, and its shooting like mad from the old roots

Thank you JT05 and Trethew. It is quite woody in its growth so I think you might be right that it is something growing from older roots. Which would be reassuring that it's not then going to continue taking over the whole garden.

It reminds me a bit of a bilberry, but that seems like a mad suggestion.

I've finally worked out what it is (I think)! I believe it is a Leucothoe as it is now covered in little berries.

Can we have another picture - or two ?

Haven't met a leucothoe with white berries but Gaultheria has them

Photos of its current state

More photos

The flowers were pinkish white bells and the berries are green turning to red. The stems are zigzagging from joint to joint.

Could it be belladonna, aka deadly nightshade?? Wash your hands!

or Bittersweet (Solanum dulcamara), that has red berries, still poisonous apparently.

Deadly nightshade is herbaceous isn't it? This stuff doesn't die back at all, its evergreen and very woody stemmed.

I think this stuff is poisonous too though

How about Gaultheria shallon? Berries start white, then pink then black

www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/7686/Gaultheria-shallon/Details

nativeplantspnw.com/salal-gaultheria-shallon/

Yes! That's exactly it! Thank you! Mystery finally solved! And that means it's edible too.