The family of NITRATE TRANSPORTER 2 (NRT2) proteins belongs to the high affinity transport system (HATS) proteins which acts at low nitrate concentrations. The relevant gene content of the chrysanthemum genome was explored here by isolating the full length sequences of six distinct CmNRT2 genes. One of these (CmNRT2.1) was investigated at the functional level. Its transcription level was inducible by low concentrations of both nitrate and ammonium. A yeast two hybrid assay showed that CmNRT2.1 interacts with CmNAR2, while a BiFC assay demonstrated that the interaction occurs at the plasma membrane. Arabidopsis thaliana plants heterologously expressing CmNRT2.1 displayed an enhanced rate of labeled nitrogen uptake, suggesting that CmNRT2.1 represents a high affinity root nitrate transporter.