This species has a very restricted range in Catamarca (and Cordoba?), Argentina (extent of occurrence is less than 100 km2). It grows at low elevation of 100 to 200(-400) metres above sea level.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Plantae
(unranked):Angiosperms
(unranked):Eudicots
(unranked):Core eudicots
Order:Caryophyllales
Family:Cactaceae
Subfamily:Cactoideae
Tribe:Trichocereeae
Genus:Gymnocalycium
Species:G. ragonesei
G. ragonesei grows semi-buried at the edge of saline grasslands. The concentration of salts is high in the surface of the ground, but it decreases deeper down where the roots grow.
via Flickr https://flic.kr/p/2k9Kzk8
Gabriel Paladino Ibáñez | Collections, Science & Photography 