The effects of neodymium nitrate （Nd^3＋） on the adventitious rooting of Dendrobium densiflorum shoot cuttings were studied. The addition of Nd^3＋ （5 μmol/L） to culture medium significantly increased rooting frequency. Histological investigation showed that Nd^3＋ did not change the process of root initiation. Nd^3＋ did not influence total endogenous cytokinin levels, but significantly increased the level of endogenous indole-3-acetic acid （IAA） in the base of shoot cuttings. Compared to the control, the ratio of IAA/cytokinins was very high in the Nd^3＋ treatment. These results suggested that the enhanced rooting frequency may be related to the increase in endogenous IAA level in Nd^3＋ treatment. Analysis of enzyme activities showed that the enhanced accumulation of the endogenous IAA by Nd^3＋ should not be attributed to inhibition of IAA decomposition by IAA oxidase or promotion of cytokinin decomposition by cytokinin oxidase. Besides, Nd^3＋ increased the ratio of reduced glutathione （GSH） and oxidized glutathione （GSSG） in the process of adventitious rooting while the ratio of ascorbate （ASC） to dehydroascorbate （DHA） was not affected.
