This study was to investigate survival, growth and accumulation potential of Acalypha wilkesiana in phytoextraction of heavy metals contaminated soil. Acalypha wilkesiana was tested to evaluate its tolerance and phytoextraction capacity in soils contaminated with metals. It was tested under 10 mL of 100 mg/kg of As, Cr, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn solution, along 240 days in greenhouse experiment with harvesting period of 60 days interval. Twenty four cuttings from Acalypha wilkesiana were subjected to the same treatment. Plants roots stem and leaves were dry-digested and analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). Results show that Fe was the most accumulated metal followed by Cu, Mn, As and Zn with 5002.4, 542.7, 492.2, 396.7 and 308.2 mg/kg, respectively. The concentration of Cr, Ni, and Co was 101.2, 99.09, and 89.63mg/kg respectively. The highest concentration of Pb was 46.44 mg/kg, Cd was not detected by the plant. Bioconcentration Factor (BCF) of metals were above unity in root, stem, and leaf except for Fe which showed a value below the unity, and Pb shows highest BF value of 7.79. The Translocation Factor (TF) of Cr, Co, Fe, Ni, and Pb were higher, while that of As, Cu, Mn, and Zn were below the unity, Co showed the highest value of 15.93. Furthermore, Extraction Coefficient (EC) of Cr, Co, Ni, and Pb were greater than 1, while for remaining metals were lower than unity, the highest EC was observed from Pb with a value 17.21.

This study was to assess the phytoremediation potential of Polyscias fruticose in the removal of heavy metals from spiked soil. P. fruticose cuttings were transplanted then grown on 2.00 kg soil spiked with several heavy metals in polyethylene bags. The experiment was conducted for 300 days and concentrations of heavy metals in plant and soil over the growth period were determined. Appreciable concentrations of heavy metals in P. fruticose parts were obtained. The indices used to show the ease of heavy metals uptake and translocation indicated that Co, Cr, Mn, Ni and Pb displayed the greatest ease of absorption while Zn, Fe and Cu were accumulated in the root but not translocated to the shoot. The results obtained shows that this study pioneered the use of P. fruticose in the phytoremediation of several heavy metals spiked soil at a greenhouse level.