Greenhouse grown honey mesquite (Prosopis juliflora (Swartz) D.C. var. glandulosa (Torr.) Cockerell), huisache (Acacia farnesiana (L.) Willd.), and whitebrush (Aloysia lycioides Cham.) and field grown honey mesquite, huisache, whitebrush, live oak (Quercus virginiana Mill.), Arizona ash (Fraxinus velutina Torr.), and winged elm (Ulmus alata Michx.) were defoliated at several intervals following spray treatments with 4-amino-3,5,6-trichloropicolinic acid (picloram), 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T), or [(4-chioro-o-tolyl)oxy]acetic acid (MCPA). The time required by leaves to be retained on the plant after spraying to give maximum canopy reduction or death of plants varied among species. In most species, however, herbicide absorption and transport were complete within a 4-day period or less as compared to undefoliated treated plants.