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Responses of Sesbania rostrata and S. cannabina to Pb, Zn, Cu and Cd toxicities were assessed by a seed-suspending seedbed(SSS) approach. The results showed that the SSS approach was suitable for testing the tolerance of a plant to the stress of toxic metals. The endpoints include seed germination success, straightened radicle and hypocotyl of the seedlings from the seeds. The measurements could be done easily and accurately. It was found that the elongation of radicle was the most sensitive indicator to the stress of heavy metals among the endpoints. When exposure to lower or medium concentrations of Pb, Zn, and Cd, the development of the lateral roots were favorable. Species of S. rostrata was more tolerant than S. cannabina to the heavy metals, especially to Zn and Cd. The ED50 of Pb, Zn, Cu and Cd were 32.90, 5.32, 4.40 and 12.00 μg/ml for S. rostrata, respectively, and they were 30.11, 2.87, 4.05 and 4.94 μg/ml respectively for S. cannabina.
