Plants of this genus, some of which are aquatic, can be used in alley cropping to increase the soil's nitrogen content.

The species of rhizobia responsible for nitrogen fixation in Sesbania rostrata is Azorhizobium caulinodans.

The genus is native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, in the Americas from the southern United States to northern Argentina, in sub-Saharan Africa, in southern Asia, and in New Guinea, Australia, and the Pacific.

[1] The largest number of species are found in Africa, and the remainder in Australia, Hawaii, and Asia.

[3] Fossil seed pods from the upper Oligocene resembling Sesbania have been found in the Hungarian locality of Eger Wind-brickyard.