The first year I started growing my own, I started trying to find as much information as possible on seed stock and flue curing information. I quickly discovered that there was a language barrier between what we call this thing.
On labels of blends and in marketing we read “Virginias”. To the manufacturers that process the leaf we read “flue cured.” And, from the growers we read “bright leaf.”
There is a commercial seed stock known as Virginia Gold used in cigarettes and many pipe blends, but there is also Canadian and Ukrainian varieties produced commercially. And, African Dark varieties called Imperial or African Virginias are merely burleys with some flue cured and even fire cured, used in many GH&co and SG blends that many mistake as Kentucky Fire Cured.
But, there are some heritage varieties such as Cherry Red, Lemon, and hundreds of other bright leaf varieties.
Most likely the reason we call them Virginias in the Pipe world is because the Virginia coast land was where Orinoco varieties were discovered to cure sweeter with heat by slaves in the 1850’s. But, quickly it spread throughout other states. And, through experimenting they found that poor quality burley with lots of starch could be flue cured as well. But, Virginia stuck, and is still used to describe this type of processed leaf.
But, Virginia is definitely not the state where most of it is produced, just like Canadian and Ukrainian leaf can be produced anywhere also.
But, if anyone is interested in growing, “bright leaf” is the best seed stock to look for, and flue curing and color curing are the processes to research.
