I thought I might raise a little stink with my comment.
Yes, you have the latin name right. There's a few species including a Japanese one. Called teasel because it was farmed for the seed heads, which were (somehow) used to "tease" cotton; which I imagine to be part of the refining process or whatever you call it.
I came about this information through my studies into herbal medicine. This is what I was taught, I'm mainly just passing the info on. I did not personally conduct this research, nor have I personally seen someone who was not cured with antibiotics, and then became well after taking Teasel. I have, however, met someone (and I've heard of many) who have taken antibiotics for years without progress (they didn't try Teasel).
The microbes resposible for lymes are spyrochettes (spelling?). Anti-biotics kill them. When antibiotics are ingested/administered, they are delivered by the blood. Spyrochettes "burrow" into the joints of our bones. I have not studied anatomy, but what I was taught was that the blood, and therefore the medicine, does not penetrate the bone joints (or does not penetrate the joints effectively enough to kill the microbes). I imagine, based on what I do know, that the joints are populated by more cartiledge and tendon than blood vessels.
The action that teasel has on the body is to force the spyrochettes out of the bone joints and into the bloodstream. Once in the bloodstream, the medicine and/or our own immune system destroys them.
Kr1, I never realized how stupid my original statement must sound to someone who assumes antibiotics always work as intended. The whole concept of Teasel, and alternative medicine in general, is that the standard treatment is not adequate. With lymes, there are many people for whom anti-biotics are NOT the cure - they are not working! Another concept at play here is the medicinal "cocktail," which is just catching on for immune-deficiency diseases etc. In the cocktail, each component has a role, and the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. With lymes, the teasel makes the microbes available to the anti-biotics, the anti-biotics kill the microbe. It takes some time for the microbes to migrate into the joints (before they migrate they are exposed to the reaches of antibiotics), which explains why many people have success with antibiotics alone. I personally would take herbal antibiotics with the teasel instead of synthesized anti-biotics. In fact, when I said "...in conjunction with anti-biotics," I meant anti-biotics of your choice. Dogs do not need antibiotics unless they are chronically ill - their own immune system kills the microbes once the teasel makes them available. So a dog only needs to take teasel.
The historic use of teasel is for aliments of the bone joints, such as arthiritus etc. This supports the legitamacy of its use on lymes, because it is assumed that in the past, lymes was misdiagnosed as something else.
Teasel is a distinct, special plant. Deer have a strange "relationship" with the plant. Oh I forgot to tell you the kooky part: spyrochettes are responsible for the growth of deer's antlers (I thought this was hocus-pocus when I heard it, confirm it with a biology student like I did). Teasel is (supposedly) the only plant that a deer will not eat. It holds its leaves into the first snowfall, and I have seen deer hoof-prints leading to the plant, and leading away at a 5-foot radius (I was told about this beforehand). The notion is that the deer know (instinctivly/evolutionarily) that if they eat the Teasel, their antlers will stop growing. Wacky.
So no, don't round-up it. Its a biannual (1st year little shin-high leafy plant, 2nd year tall spikey seed head). If you want to kill it, just weed-wack/snip-off the seed heads and throw them out. No seeds on the ground = no new plants next year. You'd have to do this for 2 seasons.
I don't want to be misunderstood as a tree-hugger or whatever. My interests in herbal medicine come purely from a mentality of survival and independence.
Also: what is a hand drill? I gather that it has something to do with starting fire???
Thanks. BTW its the roots that are medicinal.
Also, Teasel works really well for the sticks in Pict's (hey, that's fine poetry 
Doc
