PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE bioresources.com Aguda et al. (2020). “Ficus vallis-choudae wood,” BioResources 15(3), 6550-6560. 6550 Mechanical Properties of Ficus vallis-choudae (Delile), A Lesser Utilized Species in Nigeria Lawrence Aguda, a * Babatunde Ajayi, b Sylvester Areghan, a Yetunde Olayiwola, a Aina Kehinde, a Ademola Idowu, a and Yetunde Aguda a Declining availability of the prime economic species in the Nigerian timber market has led to the introduction of Lesser-Used Species (LUS) as alternatives. Their acceptability demands information on the technical properties of their wood. The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanical properties of Ficus vallis-choudae to determine its potential for timber. Three mature Ficus vallis-choudae trees were selected and harvested from a free forest area in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Samples were collected from the base (10%), middle (50%), and top (90%) along the sampling heights of each tree, which was further partitioned into innerwood, centrewood, and outerwood across the sampling radial position. Investigations were carried out to determine the age, density, moisture content, impact strength, modulus of elasticity, modulus of rupture, compressive strength parallel-to-grain, and shear strength parallel-to-grain. The mean impact bending strength, modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity, maximum shear strength parallel-to-grain, and maximum compression strength parallel-to-grain for Ficus vallis-choudae at 12% moisture content were 20.4 N/mm 2 , 85.8 N/mm 2 , 709 N/mm 2 , 10.7 N/mm 2 , and 33.6 N/mm 2 , respectively. The study found the species to be dense with high strength properties in comparison with well-known timbers used for constructional purposes. Keywords: Deforestation; Lesser used species; Mechanical properties; Ficus vallis-choudae; Well-known timbers Contact information: a: Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, P.M.B. 5054, Jericho Hill, Ibadan Nigeria; b: Federal University of Technology Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria; * Corresponding author: aguda.lo@frin.gov.ng INTRODUCTION The Nigerian forest contains a vast stock of tree species, of which hundreds are suitable for sawing and therefore have the potential for commercial utilization (Ogunsanwo et al. 2000). Unfortunately, few of the species, such as Milicia excelsa, Triplochiton scleroxylon, Nauclea diderrichii, Afzelia africana, Entandrophragma cylindricum, Afzelia pachyloba, Albizia zygia, Celtis zenkeri, Daniellia ogea, Daniellia oliveri, Diospyros mespiliformis, Distemonanthus benthamianus, and Entandrophragma candollei, among others, are still sought after (Adedeji 2016). Increase in Nigeria’s population has brought pressure on the timber species listed above, resulting from high demand for furniture, construction purposes, and fuel wood. This situation has led to the rapid shrinking of natural forests (Sadiku 2016). The demand for good quality timber has been increasing, and government regulations and environmental restrictions to preserve the world’s existing forest have mounted pressures on logging in many developing countries (Cherdchim et al. 2004). Modern forest management approaches, including the search for alternative substitute timber species for