Gymnocalycium ragonesei
Gymnocalycium ragonesei is a species of Gymnocalycium from Argentina.
Description
Gymnocalycium ragonesei is a cactus that usually grows solitarily, with greenish-gray to dull brown, very flattened spherical stems that barely rise above the ground, reaching up to 5 cm in diameter. It has 7–10 very flat ribs with faint transverse grooves. Up to six thin, almost hair-like white spines, darker at the tips, grow up to 3 mm long. The white flowers have a faint reddish throat, measuring 3–4 cm in both length and diameter. The greenish-brown, egg- to spindle-shaped fruits grow up to 2.5 cm long.
Distribution
Native to Catamarca Province and Córdoba Province, Argentina, Argentina, it is found from altitudes 100 meters up to 500 meters. It is commonly found growing semi-buried at the edge of saline grasslands growing along with Gymnocalycium schickendantzii, Gymnocalycium bodenbenderianum, and Setiechinopsis mirabilis.
Taxonomy
Described in 1950 by Alberto Castellanos, its species name honors Argentine botanist Arturo Enrique Ragonese.