It's a Hootenanny!
Hootenanny! The most evil of the evil weeds!!
That is the nickname we give this awfully invasive stuff. We have a client who put it in her garden about 10 years ago and it has completely taken over. And this morning while reading one of my favorite gardening sites (Margaret Roach's A Way to Garden at http://awaytogarden.com/why-wont-this-plant-die/) Margaret too has experienced the stuff that just won't die.
And alas, while shopping for some shrubs at a nearby nursery, what did I find in the greenhouse? Pots and pots of this stuff that they are passing on to customers as a nice ground cover! NEVER consider this for a garden or anywhere (not to mention, it gives me a stomach ache just smeeling the stuff). It has long deep runners and no amount of digging can eradicate it.
Here is a pic of the pots (the variegated variety...)
Houttenuyia cordata
Lol, I just like saying 'hootenanny.' They're selling it?
yes! I just realized I didn't give the latin name. It's houttuynia.