Dried foliage “litter” of six herbaceous species (goldenrod, broomsedge, crownvetch, wild carrot, tall fescue, and timothy) commonly found on old fields or seeded on stripmine areas in Ohio was added to potting media of black locust, red clover, and black alder plants in a greenhouse. Growth (dry weight increase) of black locust was inhibited by all six litter types at the rate of 4 g per container. Compared to untreated controls, black locust growth was reduced 90 percent by goldenrod and 77 percent by wild carrot litter. Black alder growth was unaffected by litter treatments except that crownvetch litter greatly stimulated alder growth. Black locust and red clover were also grown in graded amounts (0.5 to 8 g per container) of goldenrod, broomsedge, wild carrot and tall fescue litter. In all but wild carrot litter, some aspects of black locust growth were stimulated at low litter levels and inhibited at high levels. Goldenrod litter inhibited red clover growth, especially at 8 g level, whereas tall fescue litter stimulated growth, especially at 2 g level. Litter effects on nodulation and N-fixation rates roughly paralleled dry weight growth trends. Forest Sci. 26:511–520.