**Abstract**

Phytoremediation is a technique for treatment areas with medium or low heavy metals concentrations. A pot experiment was carried out to determine the usefulness of *Canna indica* L. as phytoremediator species. The plants were treated with three increasing Zn(II) and Cu(II) solutions. 21 days later, dry weight, relative membrane conductivity, chlorophyll, carotene, malondialdehyde, soluble proteins, proline, and Zn(II) and Cu(II) contents were measured. Zn(II) and Cu (II) treatments caused a decline in the dry weight, chlorophyll, carotene, and soluble proteins content, whereas the relative conductivity, malondialdehyde, and proline content showed the opposite pattern. The bioaccumulation reached values approximately 48 and 15 times higher (5293 mg kg<sup>1</sup> and 1425 mg kg<sup>1</sup> ), compared with the control, for Zn(II) and Cu(II), respectively. Our results suggest that this species can be used for the phytoremediation of polluted soils with moderate concentrations of Zn(II) and Cu(II).

**Keywords:** phytoremediation, *Canna indica*, copper, zinc, physiological response
