Culms loosely tufted or solitary, ascending or lax, 10-32 cm × 0.8-1.6 mm. Leaves: basal sheaths light brown to brown; sheaths green or yellow-green, 2-26 mm; blades ascending, green or yellow-green, midrib well developed abaxially, 2 lateral veins well developed adaxially, flat, 18-44 cm × 12-14 mm, blades of owerwintering leaves smooth. Inflorescences: peduncles of proximal spike to 6 cm, longer lateral ones 4.6-14 times as long as spikes they subtend, arising in proximal 1/3 of culm, distal lateral spikes not exserted; peduncle of terminal spike 0-2.8 cm; bracts 8-21 × 1-4 mm, blade of distal lateral spike linear, narrower than spikes, widest bract blade of distalmost lateral spike 0.5-3.4 mm wide. Spikes 3(-4) per culm; lateral spikes 7-20 × 2.5-4.5 mm; terminal spike 11-35 × 1.8-3 mm. Pistillate scales 2-2.5 × 0.8-1.2 mm, apex acute or mucronate. Staminate scales 3.2-4.2 × 1-1.2 mm, margins hyaline or brown tinged, apex acute. Anthers 3.5-4 mm. Perigynia 6-18 per spike, closely to loosely overlapping, ratio of longer lateral spike length to perigynia number 0.8-2.4, aggregated, spreading, finely, conspicuously (22-)25-32-veined, narrowly elongate, 3-5.2 × 1.2-1.6 mm; beak excurved, 0.4-1.7 mm. Achenes elongate-obovoid, 2.2-3 × 1.2-1.6 mm.

Fruiting spring. Wet, sandy, acidic soils, sometimes over limestone, under deciduous or mixed deciduous-evergreen forests, hammocks; 0-50 m; Fla., Ga., N.C., S.C.

Historically, Carex chapmanii was placed in sect. Paniceae. It lacks papillae on the perigynia and abaxial leaf surfaces. Carex chapmanii and C. styloflexa may be conspecific; there is much variability in the rhizome length and density of culm tufts in both taxa. Additional research is needed to resolve the relationship between C. chapmanii and C. styloflexa.