Meet the author of Plants and Plant Communities of the San Mateo Coast, Saturday

During Saturday’s Gardens of the South Coast Garden Tour, the will be a a book signing at the Country Roads Antique store, 320 Stage Rd. in Pescadero as follows from 10:00AM-5:00PM 

The book, Plants and Plant Communities of the San Mateo Coast, is a guide to the most common plants found along the San Mateo coast—mainly between Highway 1 and the ocean. It has photographs of over 100 of the plants and photographs and descriptions of the different coastal plant communities where they can be found. 

The book was written by Toni Corelli, a local botanist and author of several books on the plants of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, and Avis Boutell and Nancy Frost, who saw a need for such a book while working as California State Park volunteers and trying to answer questions from park visitors about the local plants. Working as volunteers, the three authors have surveyed public lands along the entire coast to develop a complete list of the plants that grow here. A plant list included in the book has more than 600 different species, and the list has continued to grow to over 750 species as the authors have continued their work. 

Profits from the sale of the books go the San Mateo Coast Natural History Association (SMCNHA)—a non-profit organization that raises money to help state parks on the San Mateo coast through donations and sales at stores at Año Nuevo, Pigeon Point Light Station, and Half Moon Bay State Beach. Money raised by SMCNHA pay for state park educational programs for young people, the Junior Lifeguard program, volunteer training, educational exhibits and signs, park visitor centers, and state park programs that help preserve biological diversity and cultural integrity. More information on SMCNHA and its work can be found at smcnha.org.