It's probably a truism, and yet it's easy to forget: mountain names aren't carved on rock. Like the famous Brazilian Pão de Açúcar, Monte Zucchero got its name because of its cone-shaped appearance. But this view is not correct from all sides: In contrast to the Valmaggesi, the Verzaschesi tend to use the name Sassaróss - because of the oxidized, reddish rock (like the Sasso Rosso, about 4 km further south-east). Another common name was Triangolo(ne), as a counterpart to the neighboring Triangolino. The fact that almost only the name Monte Zucchero is used today is therefore arbitrary. As diverse as Monte Zucchero is named, its nature is strangely monotonous. The area, which also appears barren in terms of landscape, is one of the mountain areas with the fewest floral species in Switzerland: the neighboring region of Pizzo Barone, Campo Tencia and Campolungo has around three times as many flower species. The cause of this species poverty lies in the history of the earth; the gneiss that predominates here is a rather bitter substrate for flowers at such altitudes.