elm tree

As Captain Marcy crossed the Texas Llano Estacado in 1849, he wrote "nary a tree.. not a shrub..nothing to go by" - a sentiment also noted by Coronado in his journey 300 years earlier. Lubbock's location on the "staked" plains has been described as a treeless expanse. Early settlers planted trees and the Chinese elm survived the arid conditions. Today Lubbock has trees and 100-year elms are still to be found.