Epilithic and Cryptoendolithic Cyanobacteria of Clarens Sandstone Cliffs in the Golden Gate Highlands National Park, South Africa

A cryptoendolithic cyanobacterial community is described from Clarens sandstone in a montane ecosystem of the north‐eastern Orange Free State, South Africa. The community is dominated by a species of the unicellular cyanobacterial genus Chroococcidiopsis. Chlorophylla content of the colonised sandstone ranged between 44.3 and 51.8mg m−2. The establishment and species composition of an artificially created tintenstrich cyanobacterial community is documented. The possible contribution of cryptoendolithic cyanobacterial communities in the biological formation of hollows and caves in Clarens sandstone cliffs is discussed. 1995 Deutsche Botanische Gesellschaft/German Botanical Society