[xerula]

Apart from the Romanesque cauliflower, these images mostly just show examples of phyllotactic spirals, which are not really fractals.

Fractal models can generate patterns reminiscent of some organic structures, particularly branching structures, but their importance in doing so is often overstated. Generally speaking, they don't capture the underlying biological processes giving rise to the structures; models that do (reaction-diffusion, optimal transport networks, models of specific genetic developmental programmes...) achieve more realism.

"The problem with a field such as fractal theory, which can be visually dramatic and practised without much background and sophistication, is that uninformed proselytising and inappropriate use can raise unrealistic expectations as to its relevance and applicability. ...Although chaos and fractal theory have been proposed by some as biological panaceas fortunately there are enough realists to counter this view and generally keep them in perspective." –– JD Murray, Mathematical Biology

[s_kilk]

> ... which are not really fractals.

I suspect for some people the word "fractal" just means "a pleasing shape"