I agree that Perique is definitely not an Oriental. (Sorry, GRIN.) The Perique varietal that I have grown (from seed acquired through New Hope Seed) displays a distinct Orinoco habitus--tall pyramidal plant; long, moderately wide, dark green leaves; rumpled surface; loosely wavy margin. The air-cured leaf is fairly strong, and when used as a minor blending component in cigars, lends a pleasing, edgy flavor and aroma. After kilning, air-cured Perique loses its edginess, and mellows out.
I also agree with the opinion that delicious and quite typical pipe-blending Perique (nearly indistinguishable from the product of St. James Parrish, Louisiana) can be made by pressure-fermenting many (if not all) varieties of leaf. FmGrowit's "Perique" is one of the finest I've tasted, and equals in quality the pure St. James Parrish Perique that I've sampled over the years.
The marketeers of St. James Parrish, as well as all the copy-and-paste tobacco journalists, have a great deal invested in maintaining the myth that the commercial product can only be obtained from St. James Parrish, while the sole remaining producer of that product has readily admitted that what he sells--and has sold for years--is blended from Perique that is predominantly obtained from elsewhere.
So I would venture to say that "Perique" is a process-class of tobacco that varies only subtly when made from differing varieties of leaf. The pressure process is the dominant factor in the final product.
Bob