The functional seeds of Matricaria recutita are dry fruits classified as achenes. Generally these seeds are not processed and present high number of empty seeds and impurities which reduces the quality, causing germination problems and promoting irregular stands of plants in the fields. This research was carried out to evaluate the effects of different temperatures on the germination of high and low-density seeds, submitted to light and darkness after the manual screening of the flower heads (capitulum). The moisture content and density of blown and unblown seeds were determined. The germination experiments were conducted in germination boxes lined with filter paper at 20, 25 and 30°C for the unblown seeds and at 15, 20, 25 and 30°C for the processed seeds. Although the moisture content was only slighly different, the seed density increased four times after being processed. The unblown seeds presented extremely low percentages of germination in all temperatures tested. For the blown seeds the temperature of the 15°C promoted the best germination in both in the light and the darkness.