No matter how I twist or turn it, "4" does appear in the output.

# With strictures:
use strict;
use warnings;
use Data::Dump 'pp';

my %hash;
$hash{tree} = 4;
$hash{tree}->{apple} = 6; 

pp \%hash;

__END__
Can't use string ("4") as a HASH ref while "strict refs" in use at G:\
+x.pl line 7.

[download]
# Without strictures:
use warnings;
use Data::Dump 'pp';

my %hash;
$hash{tree} = 4;
$hash{tree}->{apple} = 6; 

pp \%hash;

__END__
{ tree => 4 }

[download]

No offense, but the real problem is that the OP doesn't seem to understand that the value part of a key/value pair can only hold one value, and consequently the design of his data structure is flawed.

In reply to Re^2: (another) HoH question by muba
in thread (another) HoH question by zuma53

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