Phytolacca americana (pokeweed) has been found to be a new manganese hyperaccumulator plant by means of field surveys on Mn-rich soils and by Hydroponics experiments. This species not only has remarkable tolerance to Mn but also has extraordinary uptake and accumulation capacity for this element. The maximum Mn concentration in the leaf dry matter was 8000 mg/g on Xiangtan Mn tailings wastelands, with a mean of 6490 mg/kg. The species was characterized by a high translocation factor (> 10.76). Under nutrient solution culture conditions. manganese concentration in the shoots increased with increasing external Mn levels. The maximum concentration of Mn in leaves reached 47.06 g/kg at 50 mmol/L Mn. This species provides a new plant resource for exploring the mechanism of Mn hyper-accumulation and has potential for use in the phytoremediation of Mn contaminated soils. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.