I am an evolutionary biologist studying the processes that give rise to the immense diversity of flowering plants. I use field experiments in combination with natural history observations to approach questions related to speciation at various stages of divergence. My main interests involve the application of natural selection theory in pollination systems, with a focus on floral mimicry, character displacement and reproductive isolation in geophyte and long proboscid fly systems. I teach first-year cell biology, second-year reproductive biology, third-year speciation and coordinate our honours programme.

I am also an editor for The American Naturalist: https://www.amnat.org/an/EdBd.html

For more details on the research I do, visit www.floraldivergence.wordpress.com

Current Students 

Carla Odendaal (Hns)

Ntokozo Hlope (MSc)

Nasreen Petersen (MSc)

Ruby Davies - (MSc)

Katharine Khoury (PhD)

Recent Publications:

2026

• Steven D. Johnson; Matthew Moir; Newman, E; Timo van der Niet. Pollination by long-proboscid horseflies and its implications for reproductive isolation among co-flowering Satyrium orchids in South Africa. American Journal of Botany (Accepted).
• Khoury, K., Agren, J., Peter, C., Sletvold, N., and Newman, E. The role of secondary pollinators in the evolution of complex colour signals in a bimodal pollination system 2026 - Proceedings of the Royal Society B (In Press).
• Newman, E., Ellis, A.G. and Anderson, B., Pollinator and flower morphology interact to influence pollen receipt 2026. American Naturalist. https://doi.org/10.1086/738374

2025

• Khoury, K., and Newman, E. Ecological niche differentiation mediates near-complete premating reproductive isolation within the Gladiolus carneus (Iridaceae) species complex. 2025 Annals of Botany. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcaf172.
• Newman, E., Ellis, A.G. and Anderson, B., Pollinator and flower morphology interact to influence pollen receipt 2025. American Naturalist. https://doi.org/10.1086/738374
• Johnson, S.D., van Der Niet, Newman, E., Hobbhahn, N., and Anderson, B. 2025 Geographical variation in flower colour of a food-deceptive orchid reflects local pollinator preferences. Annals of Botany. mcaf074
• Moir, M., Butler, H., Dold, T., Peter, C. and Newman, E. 2025 A test of the Grant-Stebbins pollinator shift model of floral evolution. New Phytologist. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.20373
• Newman, E., and Johnson, S. D., 2025. Pollinator-mediated isolation maintains coexistence between mimetic Disa orchids. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 38: 190-201
• Butler, H. C., Rogerson, A. J., Peter, C.I.P., Johnson, S. D. and Newman, E. 2025 Evidence for diurnal bee pollination in the ancestrally hawkmoth-pollinated genus Crinum (Amaryllidaceae). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. Boae066. 

Last Modified: Thu, 05 Feb 2026 11:06:34 SAST