associative arrays

Hello:

I have been programming php and javascript for some time.
I have not come on a way to navigate upward in javascript 
objects (it does not have associative arrays but objects are
often used in the same way associative arrays are used)

I would like to find out if there is a way of navigating a
multidimensional associate array upward: I.E.:
From a child property/value to a parent property

For instance:

$sampleArray = [];
$sampleArray['nuts'] = ['treeNuts'=>'walnut'];
$sampleArray['fruit'] = ['notUsuallyFruit'=>['tomatoe'=>true, 'avacado'=>true, 'eggplant'=>true]];

How would I get from 'tomatoe' to 'notUsuallyFruit', to 'fruit' and find 'nuts'? Is there a parent property implicit
in associative arrays in php? I see next and prev in the manual under array functions. But I don't
see anything that suggests moving upward to find a parent and parent syblings.

I written lots of recursive code to search from the root to the tips of the branches.

To create a metaphor: it is like a squirrel jumps from another tree and lands on a branch. It
can find its way to the trunk and to the ground.

Thank you for time and attention
JK