Two new species, Xanthoria karrooensis S. Kondratyuk & Kärnefelt and Xanthoria alexanderbaai S. Kondratyuk & Kärnefelt, both apparently endemic to South Africa, are described and illustrated. Other xanthorioid species known from southern Africa are listed in a Table and a preliminary key is provided for the African species. The new species are compared with a number of presumably related species, and a Table is provided comparing the character states for the new species and related species.