Absolutely I love being able to just walk outside and cut up some wood to smoke with cherry leaves such a distinct taste to me to on every meat we have used so far its so good! And right lol the way the world is now never know lol
First, I use cherry wood a lot, great for smoking fish, used to sell it... just the wood, not the leaves.
I saw your post and was a bit concerned when you mentioned leaves. Just in case you’re not aware… cherry trees (Prunus serotina) contain hydrocyanic compounds. They convert to cyanide when ingested by people/animals.
120 years ago you’d go to the pharmacist and ask for cyanide water or cherry water to treat a bad cough. Cherry trees were the main source of cyanide for the medical community for decades.
In small amounts cyanide suppresses the muscles used for breathing, suppressing a cough, it dampens spasms. It’s still used in a great many herbal blends for colds/flu. It’s also why most cough syrups are cherry flavored to this day. The words cherry and cough were ingrained into the public mind.
Anyway, these hydrocyanic compounds concentrate in the leaves beginning in August/late summer. One September a friend of mine (great herbalist) cut down brush at the end of his garden. A large portion was cherry saplings.
He turned in his goats to let them clean up all the greenery. He knew exactly how cherry worked as medicine, knew about the hydrocyanic compounds. In fact he taught me. But the leaves are not used in medicine. What he didn’t know was how the cyanide concentrated in those leaves in late summer.
They killed 3 of his goats… So, I would advise caution when burning the leaves. Except as a medicine, I wouldn't use the leaves at all.
(Apples, pears and especially peaches are also closely related to cherry trees. They also have these hydrocyanic compounds, just not as concentrated. So, if you find yourself with a bad cough in late summer, chew a leaf or 2 from any of them. I would go for peach, wonderful medicine in other respects also)
Edit to add… I don’t know what happens to hydrocyanic compounds when burned. They might be harmless, drift away on the air. Then again, they might not be harmless. That said, in an outdoor setting I wouldn’t be overly concerned. However, I would not burn the leaves in an area with poor ventilation.