It’s mostly an efficiency hack – a tree stretches its branches where light, water and nutrients are easiest to get, so the geometry repeats at each scale. If you look at a large canopy and zoom in, the angles and spacing look almost identical; that’s a self‑similar pattern that matches the optimal distribution of resources, so the math ends up in the growth algorithm. In short, the tree is solving a simple optimization problem over and over again, and fractals just happen to be the visual signature of that.

Nice idea, but you’ll need a spectrometer and a bit of patience to read the lichen’s diary. Just a quick poke won’t give you the data you’re after, and the tree might protest. Stick to observation first, then decide if a sample is worth the effort.