diff --git a/src/zarr/core/group.py b/src/zarr/core/group.py
index 65dfd5442e..3592b5ce1a 100644
--- a/src/zarr/core/group.py
+++ b/src/zarr/core/group.py
@@ -61,6 +61,7 @@
 from zarr.errors import MetadataValidationError
 from zarr.storage import StoreLike, StorePath
 from zarr.storage._common import ensure_no_existing_node, make_store_path
+from zarr.storage._utils import normalize_path
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from collections.abc import (
@@ -2984,7 +2985,8 @@ def _get_roots(
     data: dict[str, GroupMetadata | ArrayV2Metadata | ArrayV3Metadata],
 ) -> tuple[str, ...]:
     """
-    Return the keys of the root(s) of the hierarchy
+    Return the keys of the root(s) of the hierarchy. A root is a key with the fewest number of
+    path segments.
     """
     if "" in data:
         return ("",)
@@ -3012,8 +3014,8 @@ def _parse_hierarchy_dict(
     then return an identical copy of that dict. Otherwise, return a version of the input dict
     with groups added where they are needed to make the hierarchy explicit.
 
-    For example, an input of {'a/b/c': ...} will result in a return value of
-    {'a': GroupMetadata, 'a/b': GroupMetadata, 'a/b/c': ...}.
+    For example, an input of {'a/b/c': ArrayMetadata} will result in a return value of
+    {'a': GroupMetadata, 'a/b': GroupMetadata, 'a/b/c': ArrayMetadata}.
 
     The input is also checked for the following conditions, and an error is raised if any
     of them are violated:
@@ -3024,8 +3026,6 @@ def _parse_hierarchy_dict(
     This function ensures that the input is transformed into a specification of a complete and valid
     Zarr hierarchy.
     """
-    # Create a copy of the input dict
-    out: dict[str, GroupMetadata | ArrayV2Metadata | ArrayV3Metadata] = {**data}
 
     observed_zarr_formats: dict[ZarrFormat, list[str | None]] = {2: [], 3: []}
 
@@ -3041,38 +3041,59 @@ def _parse_hierarchy_dict(
             f"The following keys map to Zarr v3 nodes: {observed_zarr_formats.get(3)}."
             "Ensure that all nodes have the same Zarr format."
         )
-
         raise ValueError(msg)
 
+    out: dict[str, GroupMetadata | ArrayV2Metadata | ArrayV3Metadata] = {}
+
     for k, v in data.items():
-        if k is None:
-            # root node
-            pass
-        else:
-            if k.startswith("/"):
-                msg = f"Keys of hierarchy dicts must be relative paths, i.e. they cannot start with '/'. Got {k}, which violates this rule."
-                raise ValueError(k)
-            # TODO: ensure that the key is a valid path
-            # Split the key into its path components
-            key_split = k.split("/")
-
-            # Iterate over the intermediate path components
-            *subpaths, _ = accumulate(key_split, lambda a, b: f"{a}/{b}")
-            for subpath in subpaths:
-                # If a component is not already in the output dict, add a group
-                if subpath not in out:
-                    out[subpath] = GroupMetadata(zarr_format=v.zarr_format)
-                else:
-                    if not isinstance(out[subpath], GroupMetadata):
-                        msg = (
-                            f"The node at {subpath} contains other nodes, but it is not a Zarr group. "
-                            "This is invalid. Only Zarr groups can contain other nodes."
-                        )
-                        raise ValueError(msg)
+        # TODO: ensure that the key is a valid path
+        key_split = k.split("/")
+        *subpaths, _ = accumulate(key_split, lambda a, b: "/".join([a, b]))
+
+        for subpath in subpaths:
+            # If a component is not already in the output dict, add a group
+            if subpath not in out:
+                out[subpath] = GroupMetadata(zarr_format=v.zarr_format)
+            else:
+                if not isinstance(out[subpath], GroupMetadata):
+                    msg = (
+                        f"The node at {subpath} contains other nodes, but it is not a Zarr group. "
+                        "This is invalid. Only Zarr groups can contain other nodes."
+                    )
+                    raise ValueError(msg)
 
     return out
 
 
+def _normalize_paths(paths: Iterable[str]) -> tuple[str, ...]:
+    """
+    Normalize the input paths according to the normalization scheme used for zarr node paths.
+    If any two paths normalize to the same value, raise a ValueError.
+    """
+    path_map: dict[str, str] = {}
+    for path in paths:
+        parsed = normalize_path(path)
+        if parsed in path_map:
+            msg = (
+                f"After normalization, the value '{path}' collides with '{path_map[parsed]}'. "
+                f"Both '{path}' and '{path_map[parsed]}' normalize to the same value: '{parsed}'. "
+                f"You should use either '{path}' or '{path_map[parsed]}', but not both."
+            )
+            raise ValueError(msg)
+        path_map[parsed] = path
+    return tuple(path_map.keys())
+
+
+def _normalize_path_keys(data: dict[str, T]) -> dict[str, T]:
+    """
+    Normalize the keys of the input dict according to the normalization scheme used for zarr node
+    paths. If any two keys in the input normalize to the value, raise a ValueError. Return the
+    values of data with the normalized keys.
+    """
+    parsed_keys = _normalize_paths(data.keys())
+    return dict(zip(parsed_keys, data.values(), strict=False))
+
+
 async def _getitem_semaphore(
     node: AsyncGroup, key: str, semaphore: asyncio.Semaphore | None
 ) -> AsyncArray[ArrayV3Metadata] | AsyncArray[ArrayV2Metadata] | AsyncGroup:
diff --git a/tests/test_group.py b/tests/test_group.py
index fe9eadabf6..def4fc554a 100644
--- a/tests/test_group.py
+++ b/tests/test_group.py
@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@
     GroupMetadata,
     _from_flat,
     _join_paths,
+    _normalize_path_keys,
+    _normalize_paths,
     create_hierarchy,
     create_nodes,
 )
@@ -33,6 +35,7 @@
 from zarr.errors import ContainsArrayError, ContainsGroupError
 from zarr.storage import LocalStore, MemoryStore, StorePath, ZipStore
 from zarr.storage._common import make_store_path
+from zarr.storage._utils import normalize_path
 from zarr.testing.store import LatencyStore
 
 from .conftest import meta_from_array, parse_store
@@ -1631,6 +1634,37 @@ async def test_group_from_flat(store: Store, zarr_format, path: str, root_key: s
     assert members_observed_meta == members_expected_meta_relative
 
 
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("paths", [("a", "/a"), ("", "/"), ("b/", "b")])
+def test_normalize_paths_invalid(paths: tuple[str, str]):
+    """
+    Ensure that calling _normalize_paths on values that will normalize to the same value
+    will generate a ValueError.
+    """
+    a, b = paths
+    msg = f"After normalization, the value '{b}' collides with '{a}'. "
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match=msg):
+        _normalize_paths(paths)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "paths", [("/a", "a/b"), ("a", "a/b"), ("a/", "a///b"), ("/a/", "//a/b///")]
+)
+def test_normalize_paths_valid(paths: tuple[str, str]):
+    """
+    Ensure that calling _normalize_paths on values that normalize to distinct values
+    returns a tuple of those normalized values.
+    """
+    expected = tuple(map(normalize_path, paths))
+    assert _normalize_paths(paths) == expected
+
+
+def test_normalize_path_keys():
+    data = {"": 10, "a": "hello", "a/b": None, "/a/b/c/d": None}
+    observed = _normalize_path_keys(data)
+    expected = {normalize_path(k): v for k, v in data.items()}
+    assert observed == expected
+
+
 @pytest.mark.parametrize("store", ["memory"], indirect=True)
 def test_group_members_performance(store: Store) -> None:
     """