Abstract:Air monitoring data showed that acidic sulfate and toxic fluoride were the major source of pollutants from ceramic industry in Foshan city, Guangdong Province. Thirty-five garden plant species were grown in pots at two polluted sites near ceramic factories and a relatively clean site as control to measure the growth of plant height, basal diameter, crown cover, and the complex growth rate as indexes of pollution tolerance of the species. One to two-year-old seedlings incubated in pots for about 5 months of exposure to air pollutants were examined. The results indicate that all the species tested can be grouped into three types: Ⅰ. tolerant species (Ilex rotunda, Ficus religiosa, Ficus annulata, Lysidice rhodostegia, Ficus microcarpa, Camellia semiserrata, Heteropanax fragrans, Artocarpus hypargyreus)；Ⅱ. middling tolerant species (Artocarpus styracfo1ius, Cassia fistula, Actinodaphne pilosa, Artocarpus nitidus ssp. lingnanensis, Camellia japonica, Kigelia africana, Spathodea campanulata, Mesua ferrea, Machilus salicina, Dolichandrone caudafelina, Fagraea ceilanica, Myrsine seguinii Ormosia pinnata, Koelrcuteria bipinnata, Manglietia glauca, Gordonia axillaries, Pterocarpus indicus)； and Ⅲ. sensitive species (Machilus chinensis, Manglietia hainanensis, Erythrophloeum fordii, Elaeocarpus japonicus, Jacaranda mimosifolia, Tsoongiodendron odorum, Heritiera parvifolia, Aquilaria sinensis, Michelia chapensis, Saraca chinensis).