I'm trying to create a datastructure that hold inheritance-like properties, ie: 
$mylovelydata= {
       'Colour'=>'blue',
        'Entries'=> {
                'Flowers'=>  {
                           'Dahlia'=>{'Smell'=>'nice',},
                           'Rose'=>{'Colour'=>'red'},
                  }
         },
};

[download]
and now I would like my code to know, that 'Dahlia' is supposed to be blue, while as we all know 'Roses Are Red'.

While code like this: 

  my $colour;
  if defined($data->{'Entries'}->{'Flowers'}->$flower->{'Colour'})
 {$colour=$data->{'Entries'}->{'Flowers'}->$flower->{'Colour'};};
  if defined($data->{'Entries'}->{'Colour'}) 
{$colour=$data->{'Entries'}->{'Colour'};};
  if defined($data->{'Colour'}) {$colour=$data->{'Colour'};};

[download]
would probably work OK, this isn't something I would like to maintain later...

Since this is a recurring problem, how do Monks solve that?

In reply to Inheritance in Hash by Eyck

Title:
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