Research conducted in the years 1997–2001 was aimed to determine the effects of the chemical contamination of soil on the yield of Sida hermaphrodita and its bioaccumulation of heavy metals. The design of a pot experiment comprised eight treatments differing in the rate of heavy metals – cadmium, lead, nickel, copper and zinc – applied jointly to the soil. The vegetation period of Sida lasted 157 day on average. A toxic effect of the metals on the yield of the top parts of plants was observed from the level of 80 mg Cd, 480 mg Pb, 240 mg Ni, 320 mg Cu and 800 mg Zn per kg of soil dry matter. The reduction in the yield relative to the control ranged between 24 and 98%, depending on the treatment and the year of research. As the soil contamination increased, the heavy metal contents of the top parts gradually rose, as did the uptake of the metals up to the highest rates of pollutants at which it started to decrease. The uptake of heavy metals by Sida was greatest for zinc and smallest for copper. As indicated by the high levels of metals removed from the soil, Sida hermaphrodita Rusby may be considered a potential phytoextractor which will be useful for the reclamation of chemically contaminated soils.

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