But IFS and L-systems don't help explain the phenomena (the "how"), just its expression. Fractals are not a building block, physical forces are. Where one or more physical forces are dominant over a range of spatial or temporal timescales, self-similar behavior can result.

I have no problem using the word "fractal" to communicate these shapes, but I'd like folks to realize that fractals are not a force, not a goal of nature, and do not answer "how."