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.