Thank you, but the leaves are not that shiny!

there are all kinds of variations on the theme ... its the thin leaves that are easy to set you on the right track ... and of course.. it standing next to water ... just btw.. they are not good backyard trees .. so just kill that dream .. if thats where you are thinking of going ... ken

Whatever it is, a chunk of bark that big falling off to expose the yellowish cambium is NOT a good sign. Can you post a closeup of the foliage? Actually I just thought of something. Are these trees usually evergreen? There are forms of Chinese Lacebark Elm that are evergreen in mild climates, which Houston normally is. This tree could not only have been in leaf, but in a semi-state of growth, when it was blasted by the cold wave. The temps well below freezing could have caused a type of extreme scald damage to the trunk. It literally peeled off due to the formation of ice. If that is what happened... although it's a very tough species, I assume the tree will continue to slowly decline and should be replaced eventually.

Thanks, all! I've never seen a sliver maple so I looked it up, apparently they're rare in my area but common in Canada (which is where the show is filmed). All that I've seen here are red maples and Japanese maples (not wild, of course). We really don't have any trees that you can climb that easily here, either, now that I think about it. Most of our trees have thick trunks and small limbs that would break if you put any real weight on it. My parents had a dogwood that I'd climb as a kid, but the dogwood I have would squish into jelly if I climbed it! LOL Black walnut, maybe, but you really don't see that many of them. So I guess if zombies ever attack, climbing a tree to hide isn't going to be an option :-O