Family: knotweeds (Polygonaceae)
Bloom time: June–October
Size: 20–60 cm
Habitat: moist soils along ditches, forest paths, by fields, and on ruderal sites
Mila dresen (Polygonum mite) is an annual plant with a branched stem and slender spindle-shaped inflorescences that develop at the ends of the shoots and are barely noticeably arc-shaped. Its shoots are leafy with lanceolate leaves. They are over 1 cm wide and have conspicuous lateral veins. If you chew a piece of the leaf, it does not sting. This is how Mila dresen will be most easily distinguished from the very similar popraste dresni (P. hydropiper), which has a burning taste. From the latter Mila dresen is also distinguished by the hairiness of the leaf sheath (formed from the enlarged stipules); in this species the surface is covered all over with short-haired hairs, but along the edge the hairs are long and bristly. The flowers of Mila dresen are small; on the petals we will notice hardly any sessile glands. Its fruits are mostly three-angled, 2.5–3.5 mm long.
Mila dresen thrives in bright places on moist nitrogen-rich soils, such as banks of some waters or moist ruderal sites. Except for the Alps and the Littoral, it can be found on suitable habitats throughout Slovenia.
