Dear Surajit ji, Not P. minor!
Probably your plant is Persicaria mitis (Shrank) Holub but can be confirmed only after the careful examination of the plant/specimen. Let me inform you that P. minor, P. mitis and P. hydropiper are very close species, known to hybridize among each other and often misidentified. Even the intermediate forms have also been reported (Parnell, 1988). P. minor are supposed to have an erect spike whether the other two having nodding ones (a character clearly visible in your photographs). Please also be noted that the ochrea and nut characters are very important to identify the Polygonum (s.l.) sps. which I would like to see in your next post. Please remember that the identity of another Persicaria from Hooghley is still pending because of the unavailability of mature nuts. However, the most important difference between the above-mentioned three species is probably the number of perianth glands which are ca.12 in P. mitis, Nil (0) in P. minor and ca.83 in P. hydropiper. Besides, there are minor variations in nut character and ochrea tooth lengths. Hope I am not putting you in more trouble. :-) Would like to hear from our experts too. Regards, Ritesh. --
