Elimination by nodulation type:
Glyricidia maculata and Pongamia pinnata are woody legumes that form conventional root nodules through Rhizobium symbiosis. Sesbania aculeata is also primarily a root-nodulating green-manure legume. Sesbania rostrata is distinctive because, in addition to root nodules, it develops rows of dormant root-primordia on its submerged stem that are infected by the photosynthetic bacterium Azorhizobium caulinodans, producing true stem nodules, an adaptation to waterlogged rice-field conditions. This unique trait rules out the other three species and confirms option 2.