In fact the idea of fractal was invented for real-life non-self-similar objects. The simple self-similar ones are just examples that are easiest to understand.
That was to explain the concept of self-similarity, something we CAN see in fractals.
Note: for anyone wanting an easy way to experiment with L-systems, there's a built-in feature in Inkscape that is pretty fun to use. It's under "Extensions/Render/L-System"
I think you are. At the very least, you can clearly break a piece off a floret to resemble a scaled version of the whole head.
Not only are fractals very well defined in mathematical terms, but there are further mathematics based on those definitions.
>Ultimately, the term fractal dimension became the phrase with which Mandelbrot himself became most comfortable with respect to encapsulating the meaning of the word fractal, a term he created. After several iterations over years, Mandelbrot settled on this use of the language: "...to use fractal without a pedantic definition, to use fractal dimension as a generic term applicable to all the variants."
did you even look?